The Terps scored their most points in a game since 2005.
It was a rout Monday evening at Xfinity Center, as Maryland men’s basketball dispatched Canisius, 108-37.
After falling to Marquette Friday night in a tight contest, the Terps showed no signs of defeat or slowing down. Rather, it was pedal to the metal all night long, as Maryland embarked on a number of substantial runs to all but finalize the result midway through the opening half.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Huge size advantage paid dividends
To highlight just how dominant the Terps were inside, there were multiple points in the first half where Maryland had more offensive rebounds than Canisius had points.
With Derik Queen and Julian Reese sharing the court at 6-foot-10 and 6-foot-9, respectively, there was no hope for a Golden Griffins team whose tallest rostered player was 6-foot-8.
The Terps obliterated Canisius on the glass, winning the rebound battle, 54-24. They also scored 30 second-chance points and 56 points in the paint, while the Golden Griffins notched just 14.
Maryland’s aggressiveness around the hoop was rewarded, as the Terps made 21-of-25 free throws. In contrast, Canisius had just six shots from the stripe.
A number of different players stepped up
Because Maryland was ahead by so much early on, it played some of its bench players extended minutes. The result was more of the same for the Terps — scoring at will.
In fact, Maryland’s seven double-digit scorers was its most since 1995. It had 40 total bench points.
True freshman Malachi Palmer played a season-high 24 minutes and flashed some of his potential. He was active from 3-point range, shooting 2-of-6 from distance. He added six rebounds to his performance.
“You play these games because you have a really, really good young player like Malachi Palmer that needs game experience,” head coach Kevin Willard said. “And the more Malachi is out there, the more everyone’s seeing how good of a player he is.”
Transfer guard Jay Young from Memphis also impressed in the blowout. He played 17 minutes and shot well from the field, going 5-of-9 and scoring 12 points.
“I think I made a big mistake the other night [against Marquette], not playing the bench more,” Willard said. “No matter what, I was going to make a conscious effort and making sure we got the bench [minutes].”
Rodney Rice started in place of DeShawn Harris-Smith Monday — Willard’s only change. Rice got Maryland’s scoring started with a pair of free throws. He finished with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Meanwhile, Harris-Smith was a steady contributor off the bench, though his shooting struggles continue, particularly from 3-point range. He ended the night with five points on 2-of-6 shooting to go along with four boards and three assists.
Maryland’s defense was as hounding as it has been all year
Not only did Canisius struggle to stop the Terps on defense with their lack of size, but Maryland was simply far too physical and athletic for the Golden Griffins to get into any sort of rhythm on offense.
Canisius ran into problems early, committing a whopping 13 turnovers in the game’s opening 13 minutes, and things didn’t get better for them.
It wasn’t even as though the Terps were pressing full court. Instead, careless inbounds plays and simple rip steals proved deadly for the Golden Griffins.
Canisius committed 23 turnovers, which Maryland turned into a staggering 39 points on the offensive end. The Golden Griffins’ turnover percentage was 30.7% — nearly one-third of its offensive possessions. They also shot extremely poorly from the field, going 5-of-25 from three and 14-of-55 overall.
In total, Maryland had nine steals and three blocks on the evening. Its 37 points allowed was its fewest in a game since 1998.