Let’s begin with all the necessary disclaimers.
Yes, Friday night’s Terrapins men’s basketball game was just the first in a long season. Yes, it was against Wagner, a stout mid-major opponent but nothing compared to the competition of the Big Ten. And yes, it’s very unlikely coach Mark Turgeon’s team will consistently shoot 55 percent from the field and 50 percent from three.
But with all that aside, the Terps’ 82-48 win over the Seahawks at Xfinity Center was about as promising a season opener as a program can have. The defense was swarming. The ball movement was crisp and dynamic. Jake Layman was a revelation. And the Terps annihilated a Wagner squad that went 12-4 in the Northeastern Conference last season and was two wins away from the NCAA tournament.
Here are some more in-depth takeaways from the victory:
– The Terps defense was excellent from the first possession and continued until the final whistle. Wagner failed to score 50 points for the first time since the 2012-13 season and shot just 26.9 percent from the floor. And while you can’t always attribute low shooting percentage to good defense, the Terps have now held their opponent to sub-27-percent shooting in back-to-back games, including last Saturday’s exhibition win over Bowie State.
All the preseason talk of players buying into team defense was displayed on the court. Layman, playing the four, prevented a number of chances inside while also getting his hands in passing lanes. Trimble defended the ball as advertised. Fifth-year transfer Richaud Pack and freshman Dion Wiley were also disruptive on the perimeter. It was an impressive all-around defensive performance.
– Layman finished Friday night with perhaps the most complete stat line of his college career: 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists. To put that in perspective, the junior forward reached three assists in just two games all of last season. Against the Seahawks, Layman attacked the basket and led the team in defensive rebounds while finding open men all over the floor in the Terps’ newly installed motion offense. After the game, Turgeon called Layman “a whole different kid” this season. He sure looked like it on Friday.
– With a game-high 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting, guard Dez Wells proved he is once again going to be the Terps’ go-to scoring threat. His third and fourth points were the most emphatic of the night.
The performance wasn’t without some drama, though. Late in the first half, Wells went down with a leg injury after driving into the lane.
It was diagnosed as a sprained left ankle, but Wells returned to score nine points in the second half. Turgeon said the senior was “dominant” in the opening minutes of that period. After the game, both Turgeon and Wells shrugged the injury off as a rather regular occurrence, so it doesn’t sound like it will have any significant impact.
– In the previously mentioned motion offense, the Terps’ ball movement Friday night was better than at any point last season. No play portrayed that more than Layman’s dunk at the end of the first half. The sequence included five quick passes as the ball moved from the top of the key to inside to forward Damonte Dodd to the corner and around the perimeter before Layman pump faked and drove for an easy flush.
Expect more of this moving forward.
– If there was one concern stemming from Friday’s victory, it was the Terps’ work on the defensive glass. They allowed Wagner to haul in 17 offensive rebounds. Granted, many of those came on loose balls the Seahawks corralled and had nothing to do with boxing out. However, Turgeon’s front line needs to improve its defensive rebounding, because against stiffer competition, allowing that many offensive rebounds will end up deciding games.
