By the first timeout of the Maryland men’s basketball team’s game at Minnesota on Saturday, coach Mark Turgeon could tell Justin Jackson would have a big-time performance.
“Justin, I think you’re going to get 30 today,” Turgeon remembers telling the freshman. “I just feel it.”
Jackson had made just one 3-pointer at that time, but Turgeon’s prediction wasn’t far off. He finished with a career-high 28 points behind 9-for-15 shooting, including 5-for-5 from beyond the arc, in the Terps’ 85-78 victory.
The success of Maryland’s three freshmen starters hasn’t surprised Turgeon much this season, but even the sixth-year coach wasn’t expecting that kind of shooting performance from Jackson. When No. 17 Maryland (19-2, 7-1 Big Ten) visits Ohio State (13-9, 3-6) on Tuesday night, Turgeon hopes his rookie can continue to find his shooting stroke.
“Justin, to make that many 3s, because he hasn’t been shooting the ball well,” Turgeon said when asked if he was surprised by the freshman’s performance. “It just looked good. It really got his confidence going.”
While Jackson was shooting 40 percent from the three-point line entering Saturday, he had only attempted 55 shots from beyond the arc. He’s often played in the post in Big Ten play while forward Michal Cekovsky missed six contests with an ankle injury and Maryland’s other big men battled foul trouble. Jackson, who averages 11 points per outing, leads the Terps with six rebounds per game.
In conference play, Jackson was 3-for-14 from beyond the arc entering Saturday. He was coming off a rusty performance against Rutgers on Jan. 24 when he scored six points and committed six turnovers.
Turgeon noticed Jackson’s and guard Anthony Cowan’s fatigue, so he gave his squad practice off Wednesday and Thursday. As a result, Turgeon said Jackson was fresh.
“I definitely wanted to bounce back,” Jackson said. “I wasn’t trying to come in here and score 30. I just came and felt like I would bounce back and help my team get a win.”
After Jackson made a 3-pointer before the under-16 timeout, the Golden Gophers went on a 19-1 run and led, 23-13, with about seven-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first half. That’s when Jackson drained 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to four.
Turgeon said Jackson’s precise shooting forced Minnesota to defend him on the perimeter, opening driving lanes in the second half. The Ontario native scored two layups in the opening two minutes of the frame.
As the Terps chipped into the Golden Gophers’ lead, Jackson sunk two more 3-pointers before tying the game at 56 with a layup. Then, with two minutes and 11 seconds remaining, Minnesota forward Jordan Murphy sprinted to Jackson as the 6-foot-7, 225-pound swingman retrieved a pass on the three-point line. With Murphy off-balance, Jackson drove to the basket and finished an and-one layup before converting the free throw to give his squad a 76-74 lead.
Defenders don’t always rush to Jackson on the outside, but they had no choice Saturday. Every time the ball left his hands, it seemed to gravitate toward the bottom of the net.
“Every day [we see that in practice],” guard Kevin Huerter said. “We always tell Justin to stay confident and be aggressive. He’s a guard playing the four. Almost every game he has a mismatch. When he’s aggressive, he can do that. It’s not surprising.”
