In Tuesday’s win over Minnesota, Maryland had three players whose impact stands out just from the box score.
Jalen Smith scored 21 points with eight rebounds, Bruno Fernando picked up a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Anthony Cowan provided 27 points in Maryland’s 82-67 win.
Another player for the Terps didn’t have quite as impressive a line in the box score, but still proved valuable to Maryland’s win over the Golden Gophers. That player was Ricky Lindo.
To see just how Lindo was able to make his impact felt, let’s examine a second-half sequence where the freshman became an important jack of all trades for the Terps.
Lindo’s impressive spurt began simply enough with a defensive rebound after a missed free throw from Minnesota.
On Maryland’s ensuing possession on the other end, Lindo got open and knocked down a three to cut the deficit to two points.
Lindo, not satisfied with just a rebound and a three on back-to-back possessions, went back on defense and picked up a steal while defending the paint.
Rebound? Check. Three-pointer? Check. Steal? Check. Now, Lindo has another stat he needs to take care of.
A little more than a minute after his first block, Lindo did it again, and this block led to a three-pointer in transition from Aaron Wiggins.
For those keeping score, Maryland enjoyed an eight-point swing in just a few minutes, thanks to Lindo’s contributions on both ends of the floor.
Lindo played a measly two minutes when Maryland had a tough road test with Purdue back in December. Now, more than a month later, Lindo played 14 minutes. These series of plays show why Lindo has earned an increase in playing time as Big Ten play gets back underway.
While he wasn’t able to go on Maryland’s preseason trip to Italy due to a late commitment, Lindo showed how he can be a valuable freshman for the Terps going forward.
