No. 20 Maryland men’s basketball extend their winning streak
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Terrapins aren’t tall enough to stare into the mouth of a horse but No. 20 Maryland (21-6, 11-5) did just that in their win against the University of Southern California (14-12, 6-9) Thursday night at the Xfinity Center, 88-71.
The Terps came into the game ready to extend their three-game win streak after defeating Iowa at home on Sunday. USC came into the Xfinity Center on a two-game losing streak. The Trojans dropped a close game to Minnesota at home, 66-69 after leading by 14 points in the beginning of the game.
The Terps stopped the invasion of the Trojans as soon as they approached the gates.
Freshman stand-out Derik Queen, finished his night with his tenth double-double of the season. He had 13 points along with 17 rebounds.
Maryland men’s basketball head coach, Kevin Willard, told CBS’ Matt Norlander hours before tip-off that, "if he was European and white he'd be the first pick in the draft. He gets a little penalized because he doesn't have the greatest athleticism.” Willard said. “He has better ball handling skills than most guards, he's like a 15-year-vet in the fact he knows and understands the game."
“I definitely appreciate that from coach [Willard] but, I mean, I feel like it got some truth to it,” Queen said, “I don’t really see Americans really play like how I play.”
Queen went on to say that his high school head coach made the same statement but the difference was that, “it wasn’t on the record.”
In the opening drive of the first half, Ja’Kobi Gillespie cashed in his first three of the night to open the scoring drive for Maryland after the Trojans failed to capitalize on their first possession of the game.
Senior guard Julian Reese, showed his defensive presence early as he blocked the next ball the Trojans possessed and put it back into the hands of the Terps which led to a Selton Miguel 3-pointer. As Miguel turned to the crowd to celebrate, USC was forced to call a timeout. The Terps led 6-0 in the first two minutes of the contest.
Reese also finished with a double-double of his own, 19 points and 10 rebounds.
“I don’t think enough people are talking about Julian Reese. He’s like my safety blanket. Anytime I feel confident I can come down and throw him for a basket.” Willard said. “He’s been as consistent as any big guy in this league all year.”
The Trojans did not see their first bucket of the game until the 17:10 mark from graduate Chibuzo Agbo who was one of the Trojans' leading scorers with 18 points in their last contest. Redshirt freshman Wesley Yates III led the Trojans by cashing in 21 points against Maryland. He had just come off of scoring 18 points in the Trojans' last contest against Minnesota.
The Terps and the Trojans hot scoring cooled off until the 5:20 mark before Gillespie drained another 3-pointer, just his second of the night.
Heading into the second half, Gillespie would mirror his first half and drain another 3-pointer to open Maryland’s scoring drive of the first half. Gillespie finished his night with 20 points.
Rice finished the first half with seven points but would capture seven of Maryland's first 15 points to open the second half. Rice capped off his night with 22 points and four rebounds.
“He’s just so fun to coach. You know, he’s very coachable, he’s a great competitor…but he’s so consistent every day, every game,” Willard said.
With less than nine minutes to go in the second half, the crowd was quiet enough for just a moment that the audience could hear Gillespie’s three move through the net. The crowd continued to insult the ears of the visitors.
Queen called his own number with a spin and dunk move to put the Terps up 67-59.
Rice capped off his scoring excellence of the night by going for a dunk of his own. Reese capped things off with a last-minute layup to seal the deal for the Terps.
The Terps will take on No. 14 Michigan State on Wednesday at the Xfinity Center.