Derik Queen’s career-high 27 points led the way inside the Xfinity Center on Monday night as Maryland rode a dominant second half against Minnesota en route to a 77-71 win.
Monday marked just the second time this season that Maryland trailed at halftime, the other being the comeback win vs. Villanova, but the Terps took control in the opening minutes of the second half before taking the lead for good with 13 minutes to go. Rodney Rice finished with 21 points, his second 20-point game this season, while Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 15 for his 13th game scoring double figures this season.
Everything that head coach Kevin Willard said after Monday’s win over Minnesota:
On getting Derik Queen the ball in the second-half
“Give Minnesota credit. I thought they were physical, and we're really making it difficult to get the ball inside. And we just, sometimes you just got to be nice and simple and get to your best players in a two-man game. And they were really trying to get ball out of Ja’Kobi’s hands. And so it was just a little bit more of pick-and-pop and let Derik kind of create from that elbow area where he's really good.”
On Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s performance vs. Minnesota
“Yeah, I think he's making strides. You know, again, this is – we're still wasting way too many possessions at times, and I think that's the one thing that we're going to really focus on going forward, is just limiting our possessions where we're kind of just not getting as quality shots as we can. And I think we'll watch film on this tomorrow, look at where we can get better and get better from it.”
On the difference defensively in the second-half
“I think the biggest thing I just didn't think we came out with really good defensive intensity. We talked about making sure they didn't get hot from the three-point line and we give up three straight threes to start the game and kind of just got us on our heels. I thought we scored, got some easy buckets, and we're able to kind of make them work more consistently where in the first half, I didn't think we were able to make them work consistently. I thought we had some turnovers. I thought we were a little off-tilter offensively, missed some easy buckets. And I thought in the second half, when you score 45 points, you're able to, kind of, again, you're able to press a little bit more effectively. Even though we didn't create turnovers, we were able to get them out of their offense and not let them run things so smoothly.”
On forcing Minnesota into 16 turnovers three days after forcing 21 vs. UCLA
“I think again, like you know, in the first half, I just didn't think we were disruptive enough. And sometimes you're not going to be able to just run and trap…sometimes teams are going to put three guards up like they did, which is fine because that means they can't attack your pressure and you just got to make them work. And I think that was the biggest thing for me was if a team's not put three guards out there, then you can be aggressive and it's going to take time for them to get in their offense. I thought we did a much better job in the second half of just disrupting their offense, where in the first half I thought they dictated the tempo and dictated pace.”
On offensive style in the win vs. Minnesota
“We always like to throw it in to [Julian Reese] and I give Parker Fox a lot of credit. I thought he really did a good job battling Julian. Derik's not a mismatch on Garcia – Garcia is a fifth-year kid who's been in this league and knows how to play. So really, we kind of just adjusted from trying to pound it inside to really more pick and roll options, making them defend on the pick and roll.”
On calling a timeout less than two minutes into the second half
“We missed the layup and then we gave up a three, then we hit a three. And I just I had some thoughts on my mind that sometimes it's better to do in a closed, tight group, instead of letting them run down the half and yell them all the way down the half. So I just thought I was, it just wasn't. I just needed to get some things off in my mind.”
On Dawson Garcia, the challenges he presents and getting him in foul trouble
“I just think Dawson's one of those young men that he's been in this league. He knows he's going to get double teamed. He knows he's going to have everyone throw everything off him, and every night he gets 20 and 20 and eight. He's an extremely talented player, plays hard, he's physical and he's a problem for everybody. He's been a problem for everybody all year and will continue to be a problem for everybody.”
On whether Tafara Gapare can generate momentum-shifting plays
“I think Tafara is definitely – I think he's found his rhythm a little bit. I put Jordan [Geronimo] in there early [to] try to get him on Garcia and try to get a little bit more physicality. But I think Tafara’s length and I think he's kind of figured out how to be effective on this team, which all transfers, it just doesn't happen right away. I think it's taken him a lot of time to get there, but I think he's really starting to figure it out.”
On how important it is for Derik Queen to go against fifth-year seniors
“I think Derik – he wasn't happy at the way he played at UCLA and I think he kind of came out with a little bit more focus and a little bit more energy on the offensive end, which I think sometimes, I think the game comes so easy to him sometimes on the offensive end that he gets a little, I would say, lackadaisical. I thought he came out tonight with a very, very good, positive energy, that he was going to be aggressive. And you get 27 and seven against a fifth-year year guy, you're playing pretty good.”
On Rodney Rice scoring his second 20-point game of the season
“Rod’s coming off a – he had a shin bruise before the UCLA game that kind of hindered him in the UCLA game. But Rodney has been extremely consistent, not only offensively, but defensively Rodney has been great. So for him to get, to get the 21 and again, I think it was a good 21 too. He wasn't hunting, he wasn't searching. And Rodney is kind of going through a little bit [of] what Ja’Kobi is going through is that, you know, everyone in this league now is kind of watching us and seeing what we do and how we do it. And he's had to adjust a little bit to the attention he's getting.”
On what’s impressed Willard about Derik Queen through freshman season
“I think the fact that what's been most impressive is that he's handled the downs just as well as he's handled the ups. So when he's had a bad game, he's acknowledged it, and he's come back and he's worked at it and come back and been aggressive and played well. And that's very, very rare for a freshman. When you come off a bad game as a freshman, there's times where you just, you can let it affect you and you can have bad stretches. He's had some bad games where it has not affected them, where he's able to come back and bounce back. And I think that just shows you the type of mentality he has, how good he thinks he is and how good of a player he really is.”
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