For a few minutes on Sunday, it didn’t look like Maryland and Alcorn State were teams separated by more than 300 spots on KenPom. But after an early offensive lull, the Terps dominated the Braves the rest of the way.

Maryland men’s basketball cruised past Alcorn State at home, 96-58, in its final tuneup before the Big Ten opener on Wednesday. The Terps posted their most efficient shooting outing of the year, notching season-highs in field goal percentage (57.1), 3-point percentage (47.8) and free-throw percentage (87.5).

All nine players who logged at least five minutes made multiple shots as Maryland posted its second-highest tally of the season. The Terps also assisted on 25 of their 32 makes, another season-high.

“It helps when you have guys make shots. So when you go almost 50 percent from three, your ball movement looks a lot better,” coach Kevin Willard said. “That was one of our issues last year … [now] the ball movement’s good and we’re popping it, but we also have guys who are making shots.”

Five players finished in double figure scoring and freshman center Derik Queen led with 20 points. Senior big man Julian Reese and fifth year guard Selton Miguel each posted 14 points. Reese added 11 rebounds while Miguel went 4-for-7 from deep, his second straight game with at least three 3-pointers after making five in the Terps’ first six games.

Maryland (7-1) jumped out to a seven-point advantage before going more than four minutes without a made field goal. The Braves (0-9) took the lead for about two minutes midway through the first half, but the Terps went on a 24-2 run that included 10 straight makes.

“I feel like we came out a little flat today in the beginning of the game,” Reese said. “But coach [Willard] challenged us, and we woke up in the second half and took care of it.”

[Maryland men’s basketball shoots past Bucknell, 91-67, earns 5th 20-point win]

The stretch put Maryland ahead, 48-31, entering halftime. It had a balanced attack, with four players scoring at least eight points. Reese had a well-rounded half with nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks. Sophomore guard Rodney Rice also chipped in nine points with five assists.

Rice picked up his fourth foul and played just three minutes in the second half, but that gave sophomore guard DeShawn Harris-Smith an added opportunity. He posted a season-high 10 points, seven of which came in the second half. Harris-Smith started in the team’s first four games and has come off the bench since.

“Coach Willard just told me when I started coming off the bench he was looking for me to be more aggressive,” Harris-Smith said. “… [Coming off the bench] is kinda like a cheat sheet before the game, because you can sit back and watch [how the opponent plays].”

Junior forward Tafara Gapare followed up a 19-point outing with nine points, eight rebounds and six blocks, with a majority of his work coming after the break.

[Maryland men’s basketball found a successful bench recipe in its win over Villanova]

The Terps’ nonconference strength of schedule is ranked No. 347 of 364 teams by KenPom. The bout against Alcorn State was their sixth win of at least 20 points, with the average ranking of those opponents being outside the top 300. The Braves are ranked No. 356 by KenPom. Maryland has only played two games against sub-300 teams.

“Manhattan beat Fordham,” Willard said on Nov. 19. “So sometimes KenPom’s full of shit.”

Maryland won its season-opener over Manhattan by 30 points, who defeated Fordham a week and a half later despite being more than 150 spots lower on KenPom.

Even if Willard doesn’t agree with all the analytics, they — particularly the NET rankings — can play a big part in the March Madness selections and seedings.

Other teams across the country have taken similar approaches to Maryland in scheduling games they should win by large margins to help their NET rankings. The first NET rankings come out later this month​​.

The Terps still don’t have a premiere win — their best was a one-point victory over a struggling Villanova team. But they’ve handled all their low-major opponents with ease, and will have plenty of chances to notch quality victories in Big Ten play.