Maryland men’s basketball blew by Ohio State on Wednesday night in Xfinity Center in a 24-point win, a game that was never in doubt, as Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Derik Queen led the way as two of five in double figures. While Maryland turned 17 Ohio State turnovers into 22 points, the lead grew to as many as 40 as the Buckeyes struggled to trim the lead under 20 points for the final 26:39.
Everything that head coach Kevin Willard said after the win:
On the key factors to the fast start
“I think the two big – we had our best practice we've had all year yesterday. I gave them a day off after Alcorn [State] knowing that we’d have one day to prepare but they responded. They came back with – what you saw in the first half is how we practiced yesterday. The intensity was great. We got after each other. And then, you know, I've challenged Ja’Kobi a little bit. He's got Bruce [Thornton], now he's got Braden Smith. This league has point guard after point guard after point guard. And I thought Ja’Kobi, the way Ja’Kobi came out and set the tone I thought that was a big difference.”
On what the win shows Maryland is capable of
“This is a good Ohio State team. They just came off a tough loss to Pitt. This is – you'll take these. You don't get them very often, so I'm just going to take it and run.”
On whether he’s seen this defensive performance build in practice
“I mean, we're the eighth-ranked defensive team in the country, so we've been kind of doing it all year, but to do it in a conference game I think was the most important thing. I mean, our second-half defensive effort against Villanova was pretty darn good. These guys have been giving great effort all year for the most part.”
On how the defense sparked offense vs. Ohio State
“I think again, Ja’Kobi really set the tone. [Julian Reese] got off to a good start. We hit a couple [of] shots. We made a quick adjustment in our press at the under-16 timeout that I think helped us and kind of threw them off a little bit. So it's a fun thing about this team. They're smart. We can make a quick little adjustment, and they can do it. Ja’Kobi – and I thought Ja’Kobi and Rodney [Rice] to start the game at the front of the press were great.”
On defending Ohio St. guard Bruce Thornton
“We wanted to make him a scorer. He played 45 minutes against Pitt. He had 11 assists, two turnovers. He just kept getting in the lane, throwing lobs, and they kept collapsing and then kicking out. Our whole goal was not to give them a three-point shot in the first half. That was our goal. We were going to let Bruce, if he scored 20 against us, we were going to be good with it. You cannot let [Micah] Parrish, [John] Mobley and those guys shoot threes. If they do Bruce Thornton's way too good. So we just stayed at home on shooters, stayed at home on the big guys and just made him try to finish. It wasn't – sometimes it's not rocket science. It's just take away a great point guard’s options.”
On where this performance ranked in his coaching career
“So there's two big things that the reason why I think…when our student section is the way it is and had the energy that they have, this building, it's a different vibe. The old people stand up and cheer. I've always said like when the students are out and going, they force everyone else to get up and get going. And I thought the students and the vibe from the start was phenomenal. I thought they really – this building is special when it when it's rocking. And again, we didn't rock it last year because when you hit the back of the room every time, it's really tough to cheer for someone when you're missing shots. So I thought the student section was phenomenal. I thought the crowd was great. And you need this in Big Ten play.”
Whether Willard has had a team click this early in the season
“Yeah. I mean, I've been a head coach for 18 years so it's been once or twice. It's happened. Not often. I mean not against a really good team, but I might’ve gotten lucky once or twice.”
On Queen’s versatility on offense, breaking down defenses
“I don't think people have figured out what to do with Ju and Derik. For me, it's pretty easy. I mean, Maryland fans better get used to watching him, in my opinion, because I don't think he's going to be here next year. He's an old-school type player and that's probably the best compliment I can give somebody. He plays like a 50-year-old man. He sees the game that way. He's so smart. He doesn't have to go fast. He doesn't have to – he knows where everybody is. He knows every offense. He puts everybody in the right position. Put him in the NBA situation with a big lane and a bigger arc. I mean, that kid's gonna be special. I mean, he really is. So, I mean, you're watching a pro and I've been around pros. You're just seeing what a pro looks like at 19 years old as a freshman. So it's not anything special. It's just he's a pro.”
On Reese and Queen’s ability to guard on the perimeter
“I give Ju a lot of credit because I've had to move him and change our pick and roll covers, and we did for the last two years and Ju’s adjusted really well. It's a lot different. We're not switching nearly as much as we have in the past two years. We're doing some weird rotations that I've never done because I've never had two bigs like this. But Ju and Derik have really worked well together in changing our pick-and-roll coverage. Second half was a little bit different, but for the most part, they're really working well together, covering each other. And for Ju, it's a huge adjustment because I've totally changed our pick and roll package, our defensive package.”
On what Tafara Gapare brings off the bench
“He's just different. I mean, I think that was the biggest thing. When he went in the portal, we had recruit him. I had known him. He's a great kid. He's a very smart young man. And it's just, for me, it's just giving him enough time to let him make a difference on the court. He's just getting used to playing defense. It's the biggest thing that once he kind of gets what we're doing defensively, he's going to get better and better. He's going to see more time. It's just he's coming from a totally different defensive scheme than what we play and he gets lost a lot, especially early in the season he got lost a lot. He's not getting lost anymore and I think you're starting to see someone has a lot more confidence in this game.”
On the importance of the bench extending the early lead
“I think that's, you look at DeShawn’s numbers and they don't blow you away. But then you look at the impact he's having on the game when he's coming off the bench, it's been, for me, I have so much confidence knowing the fact that he's going to make the right plays. He knows what to do. When you know you don't have a drop-off coming off the bench, it makes you able to go to the bench a lot more, a lot more confident. It also make sure the five guys that are out there understand that [if] they're not doing what they're supposed to be doing, there's guys sitting down that are going to very gladly come out and take their minutes. So I think this is a very unselfish team - and they all root for each other - but I think if I was on the court, I'd know that there's someone sitting down that can come in and change the game.”
On Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s defense vs. Thornton
“I think [Ja’Kobi] and Rodney, to be honest with you, because the whole goal was to get it out of his hands early in the press, make him work to get it back, to get him out of their offense. So I think Rodney and Ja’Kobi did a great job. And again, I challenged Ja’Kobi. I think Ja’Kobi could be the best guard in this conference, but you gotta go out prove it every night in this conference. And I thought he, [it] was really the first time I thought he played with am edge, a real edge. He played good at Marquette but I thought tonight he came out with a purpose of trying to say, 'hey, I'm just as good as anybody in this conference.'”
On Gillespie’s ankle breaker leading to a three
“Yeah, you know what? I missed it. I missed it. I'll go back and watch it on tape and I'll give you an answer, but it seemed like everyone else liked it so as long as long as the crowd likes it then I'm pretty happy with it too.”
Related Links