Maryland men’s basketball’s offense struggled last year. It could be a strength now.

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COLLEGE PARK — These are not the Terps of a year ago.

That team was a hair-pulling dichotomy with one of the best defenses in the country but a shooting percentage among the worst (299th, to be exact). In their Big Ten Conference opener, a year ago almost to the day, those Terps fell to Indiana by double digits behind a dismal 2-for-16 performance from 3-point range.

This Maryland team, which boat raced Ohio State on Wednesday night, 83-59, can be defensive pests — but it’s the Terps’ offensive output that could keep them in the mix as the season wears on. That was hard to miss against an Ohio State (5-3, 0-1 Big Ten) team touted No. 11 in the latest NET ranking.

Maryland (8-1, 1-0) scored 50 points by halftime, its second most before the break since 2014. And its 33-point halftime lead tied the largest of any Big Ten conference game going back to 1996-97.

The whiteout crowd leaned into every bit of the first-half knockout punch.

“We didn’t rock [the gym] last year,” coach Kevin Willard said, “because when you hit the back of the rim every time, it’s tough to cheer for someone missing shots.”

The statistical difference with this team — albeit not yet 10 games in — is profound.

Consider this: entering Wednesday, Maryland had been averaging 16.1 more points per game (86.8) and given up 4.1 fewer (58.6) than it had this time last year. And, more importantly, the shooting differential? Willard’s group has seen an uptick in shooting percentage from the field (.498), from beyond the arc (.338) and from the free-throw line (.735).

A blonde woman in a knit sweater sitting on the baseline stood up and sprawled her arms after each made basket by the Terps. The show of support ramped up to a leg workout with her having to rise back up early and often.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/maryland-men-basketball-offense-struggled-114500221.html

Author : Baltimore Sun

Publish date : 2024-12-05 11:45:00

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