Tom Izzo put his hands behind his head and walked toward his bench in disbelief after Rodney Rice was fouled on a 3-point attempt midway through the second half on Wednesday. The Michigan State coach knew his team could’ve been in trouble.

Izzo turned out to be right — at least partially. Rice made all three free throws, Maryland men’s basketball set up its press and the Xfinity Center crowd rocked louder than it had since the game’s opening minutes.

The Terps’ momentum eventually wore out after Tre Holloman hit a game-winning buzzer-beater from beyond half-court, but their inspired student section was hardly the reason why.

“That end zone is elite,” said Izzo, referring to the wall behind one basket. “The place was magnificent. It was hopping.”

Hundreds of students littered the pathway to Xfinity Center’s student entrance, many of whom arrived hours before the stadium doors opened. The line extended along the side of the arena and wrapped around the Terrapin Trail Garage.

“We couldn’t focus in class today,” senior mechanical engineering major Jordi Andreou said. “This is all we were thinking about. … it’s been on our minds the whole day.”

The first two students claimed to arrive at 9:20 a.m. Andrew Wechsler, a freshman business major, did some homework alongside his friend Eitan Linsider, a senior computer science major. Once more fans arrived, they threw a football around and played Uno. That passed the time until the line at the gate formed around 1 p.m.

[No. 16 Maryland falls to No. 8 Michigan State, 58-55, on half-court buzzer beater]

At 4:30 p.m., 30 minutes before the gates opened, the line was rowdy and raucous.

When two seemingly innocent Michigan State fans approached the gate, students vehemently booed them, their disdain only increasing as they continued down the line.

“I’d definitely say the energy is way higher than any game I’ve been to, even though we’re not even in the stadium yet,” sophomore communications major Jacob Sienkiewicz said.

Students rushed into section 114 once the doors opened, claiming the courtside seats across from the teams’ benches. The 4,000 seats designated for students were nearly full just under an hour before tip-off.

Students knew the importance of a game in February against a top-10 opponent. Andreou theorized it was the biggest game at Xfinity Center in the past decade.

Linsider said it was the most energy he had seen coming into a game as a student. He compared it only to Maryland’s court-storming win over Purdue in coach Kevin Willard’s first season.

“More than any other year, more than any other game I’ve been to, you can feel the tension in here. The enjoyment is palpable,” Linsider said. “The students realize this year is part of something special.”

[Live updates: Tracking Maryland men’s basketball’s March Madness seeding, Big Ten race]

But not all students who attended were looking at it that way. For others like sophomore kinesiology major Maia Johnson, who’s only attended a handful of games this season, it was just a way for her to show off her school spirit. Sophomore public health major Alexa Grossman said waiting in line was a good way to get some fresh air.

Students put their hands up in unison when Terps players shot free throws. They bobbed up and down during stoppages of play. They yelled and stomped at every questionable call that didn’t go Maryland’s way.

Willard said on the Talkin’ Terps radio show Tuesday that he wants to get the students “much more involved” at games. He made a concerted effort to do that on Wednesday, as students said he sent them boxes of pizza while they were in line.

There’s been discourse about the lack of student turnout at home games this season. The noise got loudest after Maryland’s win over Iowa Feb. 16, when there was a noticeable amount of empty seats.

They responded on Wednesday. For the first time in a long time, it felt like Maryland’s student section was bought all the way back in.

“Boy, if they do that for [Willard], he’s going to have a hell of a program here, because [it’s a] tough, tough place to play,” Izzo said.