COLLEGE PARK, MD– Maryland men's basketball suffered a narrow defeat to Northwestern, 68-61, on Wednesday at XFINITY Center. Down by 11 with 4:11 left, Maryland (15-14, 7-11 B1G) continuously cut the deficit to two possessions and got back within three points with 2:10 remaining but was unable to take the lead in the final minutes.
Jahmir Young led all Terps and tallied 24 points and dished out six assists. He went 11-for-12 from the free-throw line.
DeShawn Harris-Smith scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Julian Reese added 12 points and five rebounds as a trio of Terps who scored in double-figures.
Caelum Swanton-Rodger recorded a career-high six rebounds as he contributed big minutes off the bench for Reese who battled foul trouble.
Northwestern's (20-8, 11-6 B1G) Boo Buie, who recently became the program's all-time leading scorer, was held to 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the floor. Nick Martinelli carried the offensive load with a game-high 27 points.
Breaking Down The Action
- At the second media timeout, Maryland trailed 8-7, but Jahmir Young was awaiting a trip to the free throw line. DeShawn Harris-Smith drilled a three-pointer and Young made a layup to contribute to Maryland's points from the floor.
- Northwestern sparked a brief 7-0 run. Every point came from the free-throw line, but Young ended it by knocking down two free-throws of his own. Maryland trailed 23-16 with 3:40 left in the half.
- Caelum Swanton-Rodger scored a putback dunk to bring the score within one point with under three minutes to play. Still, Maryland trailed 29-24 at halftime. Thirteen of the Terps' points came from the free-throw line and Young led all Terps with 11 points.
- Harris-Smith converted an and-one and nailed the free-throw at 15:39 to cut the lead to 35-31. However, Northwestern's Nick Martinelli did the same at 12:07 to reclaim a three-possession lead.
- Young netted two free-throws to cut the deficit to just two points, but Northwestern converted back-to-back and-ones to re-establish a seven-point lead, 49-42.
- Northwestern made four of its last five from the floor and a dunk allowed it to capture its first double-digit lead.
- The Terps made a crucial stop as Boo Buie turned the ball over while they were in the midst of a 6-0 run. The score was 60-55 with 2:27 remaining in the game. Reese then scored to make it a three-point game.
- Northwestern made several free-throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Willard's Take
"Our issue really hasn't been at the end of games. Our issue has been we've had stretches where we cut it to four and we come down and have three or four empty possessions. ...That's been the frustration on these close games, that we've had stretches within the 11 to six-minute mark in the second half where we've had really bad possessions and it's caused us to either not get up or not push the lead up a little bit and its put ourselves behind a little bit.
Jahmir Young On The Team's Narrow Losses
We've been struggling at home, unlike last year. We've been playing a little bit better on the road but we let a couple slip on the road as well. So just knowing how we could be and where we should be and then just looking at our record, it doesn't fit our team.
Double-Figure Factors
- Jahmir Young (24 points) dropped double-figures for the 133rd time in his career and the 27th time in 28 games he's played this season. It's also the 24th game in a row that he's played and scored double-digits. Young scored 20-plus points for the 17th time this season and the 58th time in his career - the most among all active Big Ten players.
- DeShawn Harris-Smith (14 points) scored in double-figures for the seventh time in his inaugural season.
- Julian Reese (12 points) had the 53rd double-figure game of his career, with the junior doing so for the 24th time this season.
Defense!
- Maryland has held an opponent under 70 points in 24 games, including 16 of the last 20 this season with six under 60.
- Entering the game, Maryland allows opponents to shoot 36.9 percent from three-point range during the first half but then holds them to 27.4 percent in the second. That 9.5 percent decrease is the largest among major conference teams.
- In the last five games, Maryland held Iowa to 1-of-9, Illinois to 0-for-8, Wisconsin to 2-of-12, Rutgers to 2-of-5 and Northwestern to 1-of-8 from deep in the second half (6-of-42).
- The Terps are the top defensive unit in the Big Ten this season allowing just 64.3 points per game which ranks 19th nationally. The Terps haven't led their conference in the category since doing so in the ACC in 1973-74.
- In terms of scoring defense, Maryland is looking to post back-to-back years allowing 64-or-fewer points per game for the first time since 1953-54 (55.7) and 1954-55 (61.9).
- Maryland ranks fifth-best nationally for defensive efficiency according to KenPom.com. The Terps also rank 10th in effective field goal percentage on defense.
- Maryland ranks second in the league for blocked shots (4.8 per game) which is 33rd nationally, and sixth in the Big Ten for steals per game (6.6). The Terps also rank fifth for turnovers forced per game (12.8).
Fear The Jahmir
- With 24 points in the game, Jahmir Young added to his career scoring total and now has 2,559 points. He is the second-leading active scorer in the nation behind Texas' Max Abmas (3,025).
- Young entered Sunday's game as the third-leading scorer in the Big Ten and the No. 16 scorer nationally at 21.1 points per game.
- Young is one of four active players with 1800 points, 600 rebounds and 450 assists. He holds career totals of 2,559 points, 753 rebounds and 484 assists.
- Against Rutgers on Feb. 6, Young became the sixth NCAA player since 2006 to post 1,000 points at two different institutions after scoring 1,421 at Charlotte from 2019-22. He now has 1,138 points in his two seasons at Maryland. He was the third-fastest player to reach that milestone and the fifth player in program history to do so in just two seasons.
- Young posted the 51st 500-point season in program history on Feb. 14. He now has 585 points this season, surpassing his total from a year ago. Young eclipsed the 500-point mark in back-to-back seasons after tallying 553 last season and is the 13th player all-time to have multiple 500-point seasons at Maryland.
- Young is looking to become the first Terp since Greivis Vasquez in 2009-10 to average over 20 points, four rebounds, and four assists per game. Entering the matchup, Young averages 20.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists.
Scott Climbing Up Charts
- Donta Scott scored four points, increasing his career total to 1,647. He's 11 points away from passing Melo Trimble (2014-17) and claiming No. 14 on the all-time list.
- Scott grabbed one rebound to increase his career total to 844, which is ninth all-time. He's 16 from passing Tom McMillen (1971-74) with 859 rebounds.
- Scott broke the program record for starts by passing Steve Blake (1999-2003) earlier this year. He added to that number with his 142nd career start over his five-year career. It was also his 158th game as a Terp to add to his other all-time record.
- Scott is one of five players in program history to have 1,500 points and 800 rebounds in a career. He joined Lonny Baxter (1,858 & 998), Tom McMillen (1,807 & 859), Keith Booth (1,776 & 916) and Terence Morris (1,733 & 925) earlier this year.
Juju Beast
- Julian Reese is 17th nationally in total rebounds (280) and cracked the top-25 for a single season at Maryland, passing Bob McDonald (1960-61).
- With 975 points in his career, Reese is 25 Points away from reaching 1,000 for his career and becoming the 61st player at Maryland to do so.
- Entering the matchup, Reese ranked No. 19 nationally and second in the Big Ten, averaging 9.9 rebounds per game.
- Reese is the only Division I player averaging 10 points, 9.9 rebounds, two blocks and one steal this season. In the last 25 years, the only other Big Ten player to put up these numbers was Michigan State's Xavier Tillman in 2019-20.
- Reese is one of two players in the Big Ten to have over 350 points, 275 rebounds and 50 blocks this season.
- Reese is looking to become just the fifth Terp since 1992-93 to average a double-double for a season. Jalen Smith (2019-20), Bruno Fernando (2018-19), Jordan Williams (2010-11) and Joe Smith (1993-94 & 1994-95) are the only other Terps to do it.
Numbers To Know
- 1: Entering the matchup, the Terps allowed 64.3 points per game which ranks first in the Big Ten and 19th nationally.
- 5: The Terps are fifth-best nationally in defensive efficiency according to KenPom.com.
- 6: Young hit 10+ free throws in a game for the sixth time.
- 6: Caelum Swanton-Rodger had a career-high six rebounds.
- 7: DeShawn Harris-Smith scored in double-figures for the seventh time in his freshman campaign.
- 2,559: Young's career points - 2nd most nationally for an active player.
Up Next
- Maryland remains at XFINITY Center for its home finale against Indiana on March 3. The game, which is Senior Day where Jahmir Young and Donta Scott will be honored, will tip-off at 2 pm and will be aired on CBS. Fans can listen on Maryland Sports Radio Network.
