So from before the first game, I had written:
Maryland is another team with very little depth, like us. Julian Reese will play almost the whole game unless he gets in foul trouble, his backup Caelum Swanton-Rodger is a steep drop-off in production. Neither player is a threat from 3. Jahmir Young has averaged 37.4 mpg in conference play, and his backup Jahari Long has essentially missed the last 3 games with a "lower body injury".
They have 4 wings to fill 3 spots. Donta Scott, in his 17th year playing for the Terps, has been their only reliable 3-point shooter in conference play. Hopefully Brooks can lock him down. They also have IU transfer Jordan Geronimo, who's just kind of there, and two freshmen - DeShawn Harris-Smith, who has really struggled with his shot, and Jamie Kaiser, who's the backup. Noah Batchelor is another guy who gets 4-5 mpg. All of these guys are 6'5" or 6'6", except for Scott who is 6'8".
What has worked for Maryland in conference play so far has been their defense, which thus far has been the best in the conference. The problem for them has been their 2nd-worst offense. Despite their relative lack of height in the frontcourt, Reese and Geronimo block a lot of shots, Reese rebounds everything near him, and nearly everyone has quick hands.
Ultimately this game will come down to whether we can contain Young, who torched us last year with 18 points, and Reese, who had a 12 point 10 board 3 block double-double last year. Edey was able to stonewall Reese into 0 points 2 weeks ago, hopefully Big Matt is up to the task. We'll need to limit their offensive rebounding, force turnovers, keep Young off the line, and MAKE SHOTS!
Go 'Cats!
A pretty decent write-up, save for the fact that Geronimo took it personally and scored 12 points with 2 threes, which remains his high mark in conference play this year, and Jahari Long resumed his regular backup minutes at guard. We did not contain Young, though we did keep Reese relatively under control, forcing him into a career-high 6 turnovers.
Since then, Maryland is 4-6, 2-3 at home with wins over Iowa and Nebraska. They had a 3-game stretch where they dealt with a series of injuries, but seem to be back to their regular rotation. They still have the best defense in the conference, they still have the 2nd-worst offense in the conference.
Ultimately, this team is still all about where Jahmir Young can take them, with Reese and Scott in supporting roles, along with a bunch of offensively-challenged wings. Oh, and Young has shot 39% from 3 since our first game, and has played 96.2% of available minutes in the last 7 games, which includes a 2OT loss to OSU. Two days ago Rutgers managed to hold him to an uncharacteristically poor shooting night, going 0-4 on 2-point shots and only 6-10 from the FT line. He missed as many FTs in that game as he did in the previous 13 (94-98).
Meanwhile, expect Reese to be his dirty self again, except this time he won't get called for it. In home games, Reese has averaged 2.5 fouls per game in 89% of minutes played, vs 3.6 fouls in road games in 80% of minutes played. He also averages 12.4 rebounds at home against 8.2 on the road.
Donta Scott came into the first game shooting 38% from 3, shot 50% against us, 44% the next two games, then fell into a 3/22 slump in the following 3 games, and is shooting 30% since then.
Don't sleep on Maryland.
