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Maryland men’s basketball unofficially kicked off basketball season in Xfinity Center Sunday, taking on local foes West Virginia in its second of three preseason games.
The Terps started slowly, falling behind by as many as 19 points in the first half, before stringing together positive possessions after the break to complete the comeback with 10 minutes to go. From there, the teams went back and forth until an overtime period where the Terps kept the Mountaineers from making a field goal.
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Now, a behind-closed-doors scrimmage is all that separates the Terps from their official season opener on Nov. 2 against Bucknell.
Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s matinee.
Three-point shooting is still inconsistent
Starting in his second consecutive preseason game, Boston University transfer Mike McNair Jr. took little time to make an impression on the home crowd.
With the Terps recycling possession off an Andre Mills offensive rebound, McNair found a pocket of space beyond the arc. DJ Wagner found McNair, who shot over 44% from deep last season, and there was little doubt about what was coming next.
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McNair was brought in to be a 3-point specialist for head coach Buzz Williams, whose teams are often post-oriented and in need of marksmen that can drain 25-footers without much volume.
The issue for Williams and Maryland is that it took 17 minutes after McNair opened the scoring for anyone else to make a 3-pointer.
Maryland finished the afternoon 10-of-20 from beyond the arc, with McNair responsible for three of them. Mills, meanwhile, made four 3-pointers, including two in overtime to ice the game.
Defending the 3-point shot appeared a concern for Maryland as well. The Terps frequently came unstuck with West Virginia’s switches in the first half, leaving an extra man open beyond the arc far too often. The Mountaineers made eight of their first 11 3-pointers, burying Maryland early.
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It was only when the visitors missed their next 14 from beyond the arc…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/takeaways-maryland-men-basketball-90-104000150.html
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Publish date : 2026-10-19 10:40:00
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