COLLEGE PARK, MD - Keyed by a 29-4 run, Maryland blasted No. 3 Purdue, 68-54, in front of the second straight sellout crowd in the XFINITY Center on Thursday night as the fans stormed the court after the win. The court storm came exactly 10 years ago to the day, Feb. 16, 2013, when Maryland beat No. 2 Duke, 83-81, which was the Blue Devils last appearance at XFINITY Center.
The victory was Maryland's first over an AP Top 5 team since Jan. 28, 2016 when the Terps defeated No. 3 Iowa, 74-68. It also extended Maryland's program-record 11 consecutive home Big Ten win streak which includes an 8-0 mark this season in XFINITY. With the win, Maryland (18-8 overall) is tied for third place in the Big Ten at 9-6, including 8-0 at home in conference games.
Maryland led by as many as 18, the largest deficit the Boilermakers – ranked No. 1 most of the season – faced all season, surpassing a 16-point deficit in a loss to Indiana. It was also the largest loss of the season for Purdue.
The Terps went on a 29-4 run midway through the second half to take command of the game.
Jahmir Young led the Terps with 20 points his 12th game in a row in double-figures. He added five rebounds and four assists.
Julian Reese, who had 18 points in the previous meeting at Purdue, finished the game with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Hakim Hart had 13 points, while
Patrick Emilien finished with nine clutch points off the bench.
The Boilers have now lost three of their last four games and stand at 23-4 overall and 12-4 in the Big Ten. Zach Edey led them with 18 points and eight rebounds.
The 54 points scored by Purdue was a season low and the lowest since Purdue lost 70-53 to Michigan on Jan. 22, 2021.
Maryland outrebounded the Boilers, 35-23. It was the largest margin Purdue was outrebounded by all season (+12). Purdue has only been outrebounded in two other games this season and five total times over the last two seasons. The last time Purdue was outrebounded by more than 12 was on Jan. 21, 2020 against Illinois (37-19).
Purdue held a 28-25 lead at the intermission in a tightly contested first half. The Boilermakers held the largest lead of the opening stanza, 26-20, at the 3:19 mark. Four free throws from Young, part of his nine first half points, managed to keep the Terps within a possession at the break. Emilien gave Maryland a lift with seven points including his first three of the season.
After Purdue extended its lead to eight early in the second half, the Terps exploded for a 10-0 run taking a 39-37 lead on a Reese lay-up at the 13:43 mark forcing a Purdue timeout. Young and Reese each had four in the run which was helped by a technical foul on Mason Gillis which led to a pair of Young free throws followed by a Reese lay-up on the ensuing possession.
The Terps forced another Purdue timeout after a triple from the corner by Hart pushing the Maryland lead to 50-41 with 9:06 remaining. After the timeout, Ian Martinez converted a three-point play and Hart hit a floater as part of a monstrous 29-4 run that electrified the raucous crowd with the Terps up 58-41.
From The Coach
Kevin Willard: "I was happy for the kids. This is all about that group of kids. This has nothing to do with
Kevin Willard, this has nothing to do with the staff, this has nothing to do with anybody besides that group and they earned it. It's about (the players). It's what college basketball is all about, especially this time of year. … The locker room was awesome. That was special. Like I said, the court-storming was for the students, for the fans. The locker room was what it's all about. It was great. I told them I was very proud of them. I told him that they earned it. They've worked hard. It was a fun moment, just being able to get a big one like that. I'm just trying to enjoy the moment.
From The Guys
Jahmir Young: "It was definitely like a dream come true. It's something that you worked for all summer, you try to prepare yourself and the team. We all just try to work hard. We live for moments like this… to be in front of the camera when the lights are on. We were really just playing our game, especially just being able to do it at home. It's just a special moment. So we're going to enjoy this, but we got to get back to work tomorrow."
Julian Reese: "Just beating a Top-5 team in the country. You know, it's definitely a confidence booster. But again, we got to keep working. We can celebrate our victories now and put in the work tomorrow. It was a fun moment, just being able to get a big one like that. I'm just trying to enjoy the moment."
Breaking Down The Action
- The teams traded baskets over the first six minutes of play with Purdue holding an 8-6 edge. The Terps forced four early turnovers in that stretch. Maryland took its first lead of the game at 9-8 on a three-point play by Hart with 12:30 left in the first half. Emilien hit his first three-point field goal of the season to tie the game at 18-18 with 5:55 left in the first half.
- The entire first half was within two possessions as the largest lead was six points for Purdue as the Boilers led 28-25 at halftime. Braden Smith was a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor for 10 points.
- Purdue took a 37-29 lead forcing a Maryland timeout with 16:11 to go after back-to-back lay-ups by Edey.
- The Terps' 10-0 run gave them a 39-37 lead with 13:45 left in the game as Julian Reese's layup regained the lead for Maryland for the first time since 10-9.
- Purdue briefly regain the lead on a Newman triple, but another lay-up by Reese followed by a fastbreak dunk from Emilien put the Terps up 43-40 with 11:54 to go.
- Maryland's 29-4 run, including 19-1 to take control of the game. After the timeout, Martinez converted a three-point play and Hart hit a floater as part of a monstrous 29-4 run that electrified the raucous crowd with the Terps up 58-41.
Maryland vs. AP Top 5 Opponents
- The Terps picked up their first win against an AP Top 5 team since beating No. 3 Iowa on Jan. 28, 2016.
- Maryland had lost 11 games in a row vs. Top 5 foes dating to that Iowa game.
Second-Straight Sell Out
- Thursday's game was the second consecutive sellout with 17,950 fans in attendance marking the 142nd sellout all-time in XFINITY Center. The last time Maryland had back-to-back sellouts was in 2019-20, the last two home games of the season against Michigan State (2/29) and Michigan (3/8), those were the last two games before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season early.
- Maryland holds the largest true home game attendance in the Big Ten this season with tonight's sellout and the one against Penn State.
- Maryland has the second-largest arena capacity in the Big Ten and the 16th largest in the nation. Only Ohio State's Value City Arena holds more (18,809).
Double-Figure Update
- Jahmir Young (20 points) recorded double figures points for the 12th consecutive game and 23rd time this season. This marks the 98th time in his career that he has tallied double figures. It was also his eighth game with 20-plus points this season.
- Hakim Hart (13 points) scored in double figures for the 16th game this season and 40th time in his career. This marks the eighth time in the last 11 games that he has scored 10-plus points.
- Julian Reese (10 points) notched double figures for the 14th time this season and 21st of his career. He has scored 10-plus in nine of his last 11 games.
Home Cookin'
- Maryland has now won a program-record 11 consecutive Big Ten conference games at XFINITY, including all eight games this season and the final three of last season.
- The Terps' previous record was nine consecutive home Big Ten wins in 2014-15 - Maryland's first season in the league. In 2019-20, Maryland won eight straight Big Ten games.
- The Terps are 14-1 at home this season with the lone loss coming to No. 8 UCLA.
- This is the 29th consecutive year Maryland has won at least 10 games at home, dating to the 1993-94 season. It also marks the 17th time in the last 20 seasons to win 13-or-more home games and the 28th time overall in program history.
Fear the Jahmir
- With 20 points Young now has 1,845, 583 rebounds and 344 assists in 111 career games.
- Young is averaging 19.8 points over his last 11 games with 5.4 rebounds per game.
Donta In The Record Books
- Scott is still 34th on the all-time scoring lists with 1,232. Next on the list is Jim O'Brien who scored 1,235 points from 1970-73.
- Scott moved to No. 21 in career rebounds with 653. He passed Rod Horst (651 from 1967-70). Next on the list is Nik Caner-Medley (659 from 2002-06).
Series History
- Maryland now trails the series 8-6 after the win. The Terps have won four of the last seven meetings, winning the last four in a row at home, in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
- The Terps are 5-2 all-time at home against Purdue.
In The Crowd
- Among the dignitaries in the house for the big game were Hall of Fame Coach Gary Williams, longtime NBA player and Terps Hall of Famer Greivis Vasquez, 2002 National Champion Lonny Baxter, all-time blocks shots leader Cedric Lewis - who was the Honorary Captain of the Game along with Walt Williams, Tony Massenburg, Johnny Rhodes, Eric Hayes, Ernie Graham, Sean Mosley, Travis Garrison, Darryl Morsell and Dutch Morley.
Up Next
- The Terps will head to Nebraska on Sunday, Feb. 19 with a 5 p.m. tip on FS1 and the Maryland Sports Radio Network. It will be the second meeting of the season between the two squads as the Terps defeated the Huskers, 82-63, on Jan. 28 at the XFINITY Center.
