In one of the nation’s hardest road atmospheres to overcome, 25th-ranked Maryland men’s basketball got the job done and left Lincoln with its second win over the Cornhuskers in an 83-75 finish.
Both sides exchanged blows through the first media timeout, Derik Queen had four quick points for Maryland in the first four minutes. Maryland soon stringed together a quick 9-0 run to take a 16-8 lead early in the first half. Nebraska clawed back after allowing the run and brought the deficit to four, at 16-12 with 12 minutes left in the first half.
Nebraska took the lead following a questionable flagrant foul call on Juju Reese below the basket on a Juwan Gary three-point make. Maryland really struggled playing clean basketball, issuing seven turnovers in the first 11 minutes.
Queen went to work in the first half, collecting 12 points and six rebounds. The Cornhuskers were already physically downsized coming into tonight with forward Berke Buyuktuncel nursing an ankle injury. Nebraska combatted the lack of size by forcing eight turnovers in the first half. The Cornhuskers shot under 40% from the field as a team, but kept within striking distance behind a 15-point first half performance from Juwan Gary.
The Terps had the hot hand all throughout the first half. As a team, Maryland’s shot percentages mirrored each other, shooting 54.8% from the field and 54.5% from three. The entire starting five continued what’s been an incredible year for the starting unit with 42 first half points. This combined with their 20-1 rebound advantage led to Maryland hitting the locker room with a 42-35 halftime lead.
Both teams started hot in the second half with Nebraska drilling their first four shots, but Maryland took it to the next level. The Terps made six of their first seven including a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 11 at 54-43 before Coach Fred Hoiberg had to call a timeout to calm the Terps storm.
But just like the 9-0 run that Maryland had, Nebraska responded with a run of their own, going on an 8-1 run to bring the lead down to four. Andrew Morgan for Nebraska came out of the locker room strong with six points in the first eight minutes and change of the second half. At this point, Maryland held a slim 55-51 lead.
Things got chippy from this point on. A double flagrant was assessed on Maryland’s Jordan Geronimo and Nebraska’s Braxton Meah. Moments later, Juju Reese finished at the rim on offense, let the ref hear it after a no-call, and in seconds was issued a technical foul. The refs during this stretch were very stingy on both ends against both squads.
Maryland took an aggressive mentally on the offensive end and got Nebraska into serious foul trouble. The Terps got into the bonus at the foul line with over eight minutes remaining in the game. Rodney Rice then made one of the most acrobatic shots you’ll ever see, extending the lead to nine.
The Terps got into the double-bonus before the five minute mark. Even with this, the Cornhuskers kept fighting and with a shot that touched the heavens from Rollie Worster, and we had a 73-67 game heading into the final three minutes of action.
Derik Queen got into serious foul trouble with four fouls in the final few minutes. Nebraska kept attacking the rim and getting to the line. The charity stripe was in favor of the Huskers down the stretch. With one minute left, Maryland led 77-75 with all the chips in the middle of the table. Then, perhaps the shot of the night for Maryland fell, courtesy of Selton Miguel, with a baseline floater that extended the lead to 79-75. The momentum swung, and the game was out of reach at this point. The Maryland Terrapins pulled out a massive road win against the Huskers.
To the surprise of no one, Maryland’s starting unit scored all 83 points on the night with an incredible 58.5% clip from the floor. Head Coach Kevin Willard felt much more comfortable attacking the Nebraska defense the second time around after a close home victory against the Huskers earlier in the season.
“The funny thing about is, the second time you play them, you understand their defense so much more. The first time we played them, we kept trying to throw in the post, throw in the post, and that's really what Fred [Hoiberg's] defense is designed to do, is let you throw it in the post but then take it away and they do such a good job. I think our guys had a better feel for what we had to do and were able to execute it.”
As a complete unit, Maryland overwhelmed Nebraska especially on the interior, out rebounding the Huskers 34-22 and dominating the paint with a 42-26 in that regard.
The most impressive stat from an individual standpoint comes at the hands of Maryland’s sensational freshman. Derik Queen with his 24 point and 11 rebound performance now leads all D1 freshmen with five 20-point double-doubles. Combined with JuJu Reese’s double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds, Willard has all the confidence in the world in what has become one of the best frontcourt duos in America.
“I thought he [Reese] dominated the glass. And I thought him and Derik really did a good job of just like letting the game come to him. I think sometimes we get a little sped up in our pick-and-rolls and I think these guys are getting a little more confidence on in their pick and roll game.”
Nebraska battled tooth and nail to the very end. Both Juwan Gary and Brice Williams got to their spots all night, with Gary dropping 22 points and Williams adding 20 of his own. All in all, eight starters between the Huskers and Terrapins finished with double-digit scoring outputs.
And while it’s become common for Maryland, the starting five accounted for all 83 points in the win with the bench playing 17 minutes combined.
“I feel like that's just a reflection of how well-rounded the team is,” Julian Reese added.
Maryland will regroup and get ready for Sunday evening at home against the Iowa Hawkeyes, while the Cornhuskers will hit the road for Evanston to play the Northwestern Wildcats. Tonight was a statement win for Maryland on the road. Kevin Willard has a lot to be proud of for his team’s effort tonight, and so does all of Terp Nation.
By Oliver Schaack
Photo: Maryland Athletics
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