After struggling to pull away from its first two opponents this season, Maryland men’s basketball dispatched of North Carolina A&T in a performance much more befitting of a team that wants to return to the upper echelon of the Big Ten this year.
The Terps had a 10-point lead midway through the first half and never let the Aggies within 18 after halftime. It was a significant improvement on the first two games, when a second-half comeback from Delaware and an overall sluggish performance against Navy kept Maryland in surprisingly tight games against inferior opponents.
“This is the best we’ve played in our first three games,” coach Mark Turgeon said. “We’re heading the right way.”
Here are three takeaways from the Terps’ 82-59 blowout win.
The shooting finally heated up
Maryland made more 3-pointers Monday than in the first two games combined.
The Terps were 7-for-42 (16.7 percent) entering the third game of the year and missed their first seven triples against the Aggies. Over the rest of the game, though, Maryland worked into a rhythm.
The Terps went 10-for-30 from long range against A&T, led by guards Anthony Cowan and Aaron Wiggins going a combined 8-for-17. Guard Darryl Morsell made his second triple of the year, meaning he’s just one away from matching his freshman year mark.
“Made some shots — made 10. Had four or five that probably rimmed out a little bit … and then we’d talk about what a great shooting night it was,” Turgeon said. “It’s a step in the right direction.”
Turgeon said his shooters were so often so open that it was like a game of P-I-G, but outside of Cowan and Wiggins, the Terps went 2-for-13 from beyond the arc, showing plenty of room for improvement for a young backcourt.
“We have to continue to get a little bit better,” Wiggins said. “If we continue to shoot it, it’ll all just start to add up and come together.”
Bruno Fernando continued to impress, and be whistled
Fernando has been a force when he’s on the court this year, and he reached a double-double 30 seconds into the second half Monday. But he then committed his second and third fouls of the game in a 23-second span, and he sat for the next nine minutes.
“Bruno [had] probably his best half since he’s been here. Against the zone, he didn’t let it bother him. He was tremendous on defense,” Turgeon said. “It’s disappointing for Bruno because he was really on his way to a monster game.”
The sophomore poured in 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds in 17 minutes against the overmatched Aggies. Fernando is 16-for-21 from the field this year and has scored double figures in each of the first three games.
He’s also been whistled for at least three fouls in all three games.
“Our big guys didn’t sit there and think, ‘All right they’re zoning us, we’re not going to have a good night,’” Turgeon said. “Bruno’s energy was terrific. I told him to try and get every rebound if he could, and he did.”
Aaron Wiggins stepped up
Wiggins — a four-star recruit ranked the No. 7 shooting guard in the country by 247Sports — had struggled for much of Maryland’s first two games, and he was bumped from the starting lineup Monday. He responded by making four of his eight three-point attempts en route to 14 points, second only to Fernando for the game-high.
“Aaron is a really good player, and that’s why we recruited the heck out of him,” Turgeon said. “Aaron doesn’t get sped up and he has a good feel. He’s learning; he cares. He wants to be great.”
The 6-foot-6 wing started to get hot late against the Midshipmen, and that carried over once he entered Monday. In addition to having his best shooting night, the Greensboro, North Carolina, native had added four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals while committing just one turnover.
Turgeon said he believed Wiggins is more comfortable coming off the bench, and though Wiggins disputed having a preference postgame, the results were undeniable.
“Coming into Maryland, that was one thing that [Turgeon] would tell me: that when my shot isn’t falling, I’ve got to make sure I’m doing other things really well,” Wiggins said. “That’s something I’ve worked on since I’ve gotten up here. I guess I’m doing pretty well with it. Have to continue to … just rebound well, defensively get steals and do what I can to help my team.”
