The Terps close out their regular season at home for Senior Day.
Julian Reese has played in all but two games for No. 13 Maryland men’s basketball in his four years as a Terp. His final one at Xfinity Center comes Saturday, when the Terps host Northwestern for Senior Day.
“Saturday for me is going to be about Julian Reese,” head coach Kevin Willard said to Big Ten Network. “He’s a rarity in college basketball now. Stayed four years, had a coaching change, stayed with me, we had a tough year last year, he stayed with me. He’s a true Maryland guy.”
Maryland has a chance to close out the regular season winners of seven of its last eight games, and potentially sneak into the top 10 of Associated Press top-25 poll after a road win over No. 17 Michigan.
Saturday’s contest is set to tip off at 3 p.m. and stream on Peacock.
What happened last time
The Terps’ 76-74 overtime loss at Northwestern on Jan. 16 looked like an omen for bad things ahead. They looked surprisingly evenly matched against a team far below their weight class in the Big Ten, Derik Queen was criticized for a lack of effort in a poor performance, and Maryland fell to 0-4 on the road.
Maryland shot just 38.1% from the field and 30% from 3-point range. Rodney Rice fouled out, while Queen and Selton Miguel combined for just 13 points. It wasn’t all bad for the Terps, though, as Reese had the best game of his career from the free-throw line. He was a stellar 13 for 14 on those attempts on his way to a game-high 23 points.
For the Wildcats, it was a much-needed confidence booster after three consecutive conference losses. Guard Brooks Barnhizer and forward Nick Martinelli each posted at least 20 points, and Martinelli put the game on ice with an off-balance mid-range jumper at the buzzer in overtime.
The game also represented the final time Willard truly relied on his bench for scoring production. They contributed 13 points, more than Maryland’s reserves have scored in any game since. Tafara Gapare led that effort with nine points, also more than any Maryland bench player has scored in a game since.
What’s happened since
As time would tell, the sky did not fall for the Terps. Instead, once the dust from the loss had settled, they kicked off one of the best runs in recent program memory. Maryland is 10-2 since that game, with three of those wins coming over ranked opponents. Queen’s effort has also noticeably improved since the loss.
The Wildcats have not had the same good fate since. They’ve won three of their last four games, but that’s only gotten them to a four-way tie for 11th place in Big Ten standings. Northwestern went 2-7 in the nine games following its win over Maryland.
Northwestern will slot in as a low seed in the Big Ten Tournament, and barring a Cinderella run there, isn’t expected to make it to March Madness. ESPN’s most recent bracket projections don’t include it in any capacity. So, Saturday purely represents a chance to improve conference tournament standing and to end the regular season on a high note.
Three things to watch
1. Last game at Xfinity Center for many. It’s not just Reese participating in his final regular season game Saturday. Selton Miguel, Jordan Geronimo and Jay Young are all out of eligibility after this season, while bench fan favorite Ben Murphy is a senior as well. Queen could also be seeing his last collegiate regular season action as a likely name to enter the 2025 NBA Draft.
2. No Barnhizer this time around. The 6-foot-6 guard matched up favorably with the Terps and gave them fits the last time around, but he’s now out for the season with a foot injury. That’s a big advantage for Maryland’s backcourt, which has also noticeably improved since that point in the season.
3. Can Reese get going offensively? Senior Day festivities can’t distract from the fact Reese has scored just 14 combined points in his last three games. He’s been a monster on defense over that stretch, but Maryland would like its big man’s basket-getting talent to be there entering postseason play.