No. 13 Maryland (8-0)
at RV Wisconsin (6-2)
December 6, 2022
Kohl Center
9:00 pm ET
COLLEGE PARK, MD - A big week for Maryland basketball begins on Tuesday night as the No. 13 Terps head to Wisconsin for a Big Ten battle before stepping back into non-conference play to take on No. 7 Tennessee next Sunday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Tuesday's opening tip against the Badgers is slated for 9 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPN2. Fans can listen to the Maryland Sports Network (105.7 FM - Baltimore, The TEAM 980 AM - Washington, D.C., One Maryland App) with Voice of the Terrapins Johnny Holliday (play-by-play) and Chris Knoche (analyst) calling the action.
Maryland improved to 8-0 for the first time since 2019-20 and the 10th time overall after its 71-66 win over No. 16 Illinois on Friday night.
Jahmir Young scored a season-high 24 points hitting a three-pointer with 14 seconds to go sealing the win.
Hakim Hart added 17 points thanks to five triples.
The Terps enter the week at No. 6 in the first release of the NCAA NET rankings this season. Maryland has a pair of early Quad 1 wins (Miami, Illinois) as well as a Quad 2 win (Saint Louis) to bolster the early resume. In the KenPom analytics, the Terrapins also checked in at No. 19 to start the week.
Following the win over Illinois, Maryland, one of 12 remaining unbeaten teams in the country, jumped nine spots in the AP Top 25 poll to No. 13 on Monday afternoon. That's the highest ranking since finishing the 2019-20 season at No. 12 in the AP Poll.
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Willard's Early Milestones
- Kevin Willard has become the first coach in Maryland history to start 8-0 in his first season leading the Terps. He has also become the first coach in program history to have Maryland ranked nationally during a coach's first season.
- With the win at Louisville, Willard became the first coach in Big Ten history to win each of the first seven games of a tenure by at least 15 points.
- Willard is one of just three current head coaches in their first year with a program to remain unbeaten this season joining Mississippi State's Chris Jans, and Missouri's Dennis Gates.
No Sophomore Slump For Reese
- After a relatively quiet opening night with seven points and seven rebounds against Niagara, Julian Reese has shown fans he can be a dominant player for the Terps after tying his career-high with 19 points against both Western Carolina and Binghamton. Against the Catamounts, he also posted his first career double-double with a career-high 12 rebounds.
- n the year, Reese is fourth on the team in scoring at 12.6 points and leads the Terps in rebounds (7.8). Nationally, Reese ranks fourth among all players with a 76.9 field goal percentage (40-of-52).
- Against Coppin State, Reese hit nine straight field goals (one shy of tying the program record). Between his freshman and sophomore seasons, Reese has increased his scoring output by nearyly seven points, has increased his rebounding productivity (7.8 compared to 4.4), and has increased his field goal percentage by over 30.0 percent (.769 versus .456).
Terps Have Four Averaging Double-Figures
- Maryland features four players averaging in double figures so far this season. Led by Donta Scott's 15.4 points, Jahmir Young is just behind at 15.1 per game. Hakim Hart (13.8) and Julian Reese (12.6) round out the quartet.
- Hart, Reese, and Scott are all averaging career-best scoring totals to begin the season.
- The win over Coppin State featured three players scoring 20-or-more points in a game for the first time in 20 years: Julian Reese (24), Hakim Hart (22), and Jahmir Young (21).
- The Terps have been averaging 85.6 points over the last five games and have won seven of eight games this year by double-figures including by 20-plus points for the first four straight. Maryland's +19.8 scoring margin is 16th nationally.
Scott Reaches 1,000 Points; Eclipses 500 Boards
- Donta Scott became the 59th player in program history to reach 1,000 points in the win over Miami. He scored 24 points in that game and now has 1,049 career points. He is also the 17th Terp to post 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career. Through 102 career games he now has 541 rebounds.
- Darryl Morsell (1,090 points / 510 rebounds / 2018-21) and Anthony Cowan (1,881 points / 508 rebounds / 2017-20) were the most recent Terps to post 1,000/500.
- Scott passed John Gilchrist (1022 pts, 91 games) and Kevin McLinton (1024 pts, 91 games in the win over Louisville to currently sit 55th in all-time scoring. His 541 rebounds puts him 40th all-time.
- Scott was one of 20 players named to the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Watch List as announced by the Basketball Hall of Fame in late October.
- This is Scott's second year on the watch list after also garnering the honor last season. He joins Jalen Smith (2019-20) and Jake Layman (2014-15) as Terps to be recognized.
- Scott ranked as the No. 49 overall player nationally last season.
Fun News & Notes
- YOUNG GUN - Jahmir Young's 15.1 points per game is tied as the 18th-best single-season average for a guard at Maryland since 1992-93. In the Big Ten era, he is the tied as the 6th-highest scoring guard for the Terps.
- TERPS LEADING 99% OF THE TIME - In a total of 320 game minutes played this season, Maryland has trailed a total of 8:07. The largest deficit of the year has been three pts against both Coppin State and Illinois. Illinois held the lead for a total of 4:44; prior to that, the Terps had only trailed a combined 3:23 through seven games.
- DEFENSE GENERATES OFFENSE - Maryland is forcing 13.7 turnovers per game which has translated to 17.1 points off turnovers. Nearly 21 percent of the Terps offense has been generated off turnovers.
- DYNAMIC DUO - Donta Scott and Jahmir Young have combined for 30-or-more points in six games this season. The pair combined for a season-high 37 against Miami (24 for Scott, 13 for Young). At Louisville they combined for 33 points, while against Illinois, they combined for 36 (24 from Young).
- PLAYING WITH HART - Among Maryland players dating back to 2010-11, Hakim Hart ranks 7th in Player Efficiency Rating (26.4), 6th in true shooting percentage (.744), and 1st in Box Plus Minus (12.4) - he leads current Terps in all three areas.
- LOOKING TO KEEP RARE START GOING - Maryland will look to improve to 9-0 against Wisconsin. The Terps have opened the season 9-0 on five prior occasions: 2019-20, 1998-99, 1996-97, 1975-76, and 1972-73. The best start to any season came at 11-0 in both the 1996-97 and 1975-76 seasons.
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