COLLEGE PARK, MD – Maryland men's basketball defeated No. 17 Wisconsin, 76-68, at XFINITY Center on Wednesday before a sellout crowd of 17,950. Maryland, No. 19 in the NCAA NET, improved to 17-5 overall, including 13-1 at home, and 7-4 in Big Ten play. Maryland has now won four straight and six of its last seven games. The win was also the Terps' third over a ranked opponent and fourth against a Quad 1 opponent this season.
The win was also Kevin Willard's ninth over a ranked team as head coach at Maryland. Additionally, Maryland's 13 wins at home this season are tied for the most in Division I. Only Missouri (15-0) has more wins at home. Wisconsin's 68 points was its second fewest scored this season and its lowest since scoring 64 against Michigan on Dec 3.
Three straight 3-pointers by DeShawn Harris-Smith, Ja'Kobi Gillespie and Rodney Rice and a fastbreak reverse layup by Derik Queen capped off an 11-0 run midway through the second half to give Maryland a 54-48 advantage at 8:36. The run was a massive turning point in the game, as the Terps led from that point on.
Rice and Gillespie led the Terps, as each scored 16 points. Gillespie added seven rebounds and two steals for an all-around performance. Overall, Maryland was 12-of-24 for 50 percent from 3-point range.
Selton Miguel added 12 points. The trio of Rice, Gillespie and Miguel combined for 10-for-20 on 3-pointers. Each also made three or more from beyond the arch.
Julian Reese was a beast for the Terps with 14 points and eight rebounds. With his pull-up jumper at 15:26 in the first half, he eclipsed 1,300 career points. The senior big man is now one of just seven players in program history with over 800 rebounds to achieve that mark.
All five starters scored in double-figures as Queen rounded out the group with 12 points. He also collected 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. This was the third time this season where five players scored in double figures and the first time in a Big Ten game.
Wisconsin (16-5, 6-4 Big Ten), No. 18 in the NCAA NET, was led by John Tonje's 20 points and six rebounds.
The Terps limited the Badgers' second-leading scorer, John Blackwell (16.3 PPG), to 10 points. They even held him scoreless and without a shot attempt in the first half.
Willard's Take
"I thought we worked hard, pretty much all night on the defensive end," Willard said. "When you haven't played that against that offense, which we only had two guys that played against that offense, it takes a while to kind of figure out how to cheat it and where to go. … I think more than anything, the crowd was great because it gave us an emotional lift."
From The Guys
"Being that guy we can fall back on," Reese said of his role over the years. "I feel like they do the same when I'm not hitting shots. I feel like that's just about what the team is all about. We reflect off each other pretty well, and we play overall great together. I feel like if we keep doing that, we will be alright."
Breaking Down The Action
- The Terps trailed 12-7 at the first media timeout. Julian Reese had four points, and Ja'Kobi Gillespie had three.
- Wisconsin called a timeout at 9:56. It held a 15-14 advantage but had turned the ball over four times in the last five minutes and was held scoreless for 2:30.
- Tafara Gapare came off the bench and made two key plays to bring Maryland within three at 26-23 at the 3:57 media timeout. He hit a corner 3-pointer and took a charge on the other end.
- Maryland took the lead with back-to-back 3-pointers by Selton Miguel and Rodney Rice. It entered the locker room, winning 32-31. The Terps held Wisconsin's second-leading scorer, John Blackwell, without a point or field goal attempt.
- Wisconsin took back the lead, trailing 44-43 at 11:49 in the second half. Reese and Miguel each had double-digit points. Defensively, the Terps held the Badgers scoreless for three minutes.
- Back-to-back 3-pointers by DeShawn Harris-Smith and Gillespie gave Maryland the lead, 49-48, at 10:07. Rice then made it three consecutive threes, and Derik Queen made a layup to cap off an 11-0 run and lead 54-48.
- The run allowed the Terps to close out the game with a win as they remained in front the rest of the way.
Double-Figure Factors
- Ja'Kobi Gillespie scored 16 points and earned his 58th career game in double figures. It was his 18th game scoring double digits this season. He has the most double-figure scoring games amongst all Terps this season.
- Rodney Rice netted 16 points and scored in double digits for his 18th career game. It was his 15th game in double figures as a Terp this season.
- Julian Reese recorded 14 points for his 71st career game in double digits. He has scored double figures for the 15th time this season.
- Selton Miguel tallied 12 points and earned his 76th career game in double figures. It was his 16th as a Terp this season. He leads the Terps in double-digit scoring games and scoring overall with 1,442 career points in his five-year career.
- Derik Queen scored 12 points, scoring double-digit points for the 16th time in his freshman season.
Juju Beast
- Julian Reese scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds. He's eighth on Maryland's all-time rebounds list. He now has 889 boards. Next on the list is No. 7 Larry Gibson (895 from 1975-79) and No. 6 Keith Booth (916 from 1993-97).
- The big man blocked one shot, ranking eighth on Maryland's all-time blocked shots list with 158 in his career. Joe Smith ranks seventh with 190 blocks from 1993-95.
- Reese also eclipsed the 1,300-point mark in his career. He's one of seven players in program history to record over 1,300 career points and 800 career rebounds.
Queen Of The Court
- Queen scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, earning his sixth career double-double. Since 1993-94, he's one of just 13 Terps to post a double-double in their rookie seasons. He broke a tie with Jalen Smith (2018-19) for the third most double-doubles in that span.
- Queen's points per game mark (15) is in the top five among Maryland freshmen dating back to 1947-48. Joe Smith has the best per-game mark (19.4). Furthermore, 18 of the top 26 freshmen scorers in program history were NBA Draft picks.
Home Cooking
- Maryland is 324-76 all-time at the XFINITY Center, including 39-8 under Kevin Willard. Under Willard, the Terps have six home Top-25 victories, highlighted by the 2022-23 win over No. 3 Purdue.
- This season, the Terps are 13-1 at home, tied for the second-most home wins among all teams in Division I. Only Missouri (15-0) has more home wins than the Terps.
- Maryland's 16-1 home record in 2022-23 was the best since 2019-20 and the eighth time overall that the Terps had won 16 or more games at home. In 2012-13 and 2014-15, the Terps won 18 games at home, going 18-3 and 18-1, respectively.
- Maryland won a program-record 14 consecutive Big Ten conference games at XFINITY, including all 10 games in 2022-23 and the final three of 2021-22.
In The House
- Among those in attendance for the Terps and Badgers were Hall of Fame and National Championship Coach Gary WIlliams, tennis star and College Park native Frances Tiafoe, along with Maryland alum and ESPN SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt.
Numbers And Nuggets
- 1: This was the first time Maryland has had all five starters score in double figures since Feb. 26, 2023 against Northwestern.
- 3: Maryland has three wins over ranked teams this season.
- 3: Five Terps scored in double figures for the third time this season.
- 4: Maryland has now won four straight and six of its last seven games.
- 4: The Terps have four Quad 1 wins this season.
- 5: All five of Maryland's starters average double-digit points and scored double-figures on the night.
- 6: Queen has six career double-doubles.
- 7: Reese is one of seven players in program history to record over 1,300 career points and 800 career rebounds.
- 8: This was the eighth time this season that Maryland made 10 or more 3-pointers in a game.
- 8: Queen had his eighth game with 10 or more rebounds.
- 9: This was Willard's ninth win over a ranked team as the Terps' head coach.
- 13: The Terps are 13-1 at home this season. That is tied for the second-most wins at home in Division I.
- 19: The Terps are ranked No. 19 in the NET Rankings.
- 24: The Terps have 24 10-0 or better runs this year.
- 455: The Terps have now made a 3-pointer in 455 consecutive games.
- 1,300: Reese eclipsed 1,300 career points.
- 1,442: Miguel leads the Terps with 1,442 career points in his five-year career.
Up Next
- Maryland will play at Ohio State in Columbus on Feb. 6. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and be streamed on the FS1 and Maryland Sports Radio Network. The Terps previously defeated the Buckeyes in their Big Ten opener at XFINITY Center, 83-59, on Dec. 4.
