SEATTLE — Ahead of Maryland men’s basketball’s matchup with Grand Canyon, coach Kevin Willard said the Antelopes’ have “probably the most connected defensive team that we’re going to play all year.” It didn’t seem to matter on Friday.
No. 4-seed Maryland easily handled No. 13-seed Grand Canyon, 81-49, at the Climate Pledge Arena in the opening round of March Madness. After starting 1-for-9, the Terps made 16 of their final 24 first-half shots — that included an 18-1 run that gave Willard’s team a 20-point lead, which it never looked back from.
“I think everybody was just nervous a little bit, just let that get to us,” junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie said. “But we locked in defensively and I thought that helped our offense.”
Maryland’s margin of victory was its largest ever in an NCAA tournament game.
Maryland’s win was its largest ever in an NCAA tournament game.
The Terps (26-8, 14-6 Big Ten) face No. 12-seed Colorado State on Sunday with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. The Rams have won 11 straight, their latest one being an eight-point victory over No. 5-seed Memphis on Friday.
Maryland took nearly four minutes to score its first points, starting the game with three turnovers and a pair of missed free throws. Senior big man Julian Reese made the Terps’ first three baskets before a Ja’Kobi Gillespie 3-pointer gave them their first lead nearly eight minutes in.
Reese finished with a team-high 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Gillespie scored 16 on 5-for-10 shooting.
It was unsurprising that Maryland went to Reese — one of two Terps who’s been to March Madness before and who coach Kevin Willard has called his “safety blanket” — after a shaky start.
Once the Baltimore native got going, so did his team. Reese’s third basket was the first of seven straight Maryland makes.
“He’s been so consistent in his career, through ups and downs, good games, bad games. I know the big fella is going to show up,” Willard said.”He’s [the players’] safety blanket, too. So he did a great job of being physical and getting the basketball, getting a couple buckets and just calming everybody down.”
That included a pair of makes from DeShawn Harris-Smith, who finished with a season-high 11 points. Late in the game, Harris-Smith made his first 3-pointer since Jan. 29 and then made an and-one that caused a celebration from his teammates on the bench. The sophomore guard went scoreless in nine consecutive games before Friday.
“He has grown tremendously as a person although the year hasn’t gone as good as he wanted,” Willard said. “He’s starting to figure it out, he’s starting to become the player that he knows he could be, because he’s been a great leader all year.”
Wilard mentioned he’d never forget Harris-Smith’s leadership in the Terps’ 79-78 win at Indiana. When the coach asked the starters if they wanted to come out in the second half, Harris-Smith told him not to because they were playing so well.
After trailing by three, the Terps went on an 18-1 run where they shot 10-for-11 from the field. Maryland led, 33-13, with 5:34 left in the first half.
Willard’s team didn’t rely much on its shooting, but still started the game 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. Grand Canyon — which entered the afternoon outside the top-250 nationally in 3-point percentage — went 4-for-14 in that span.
[Behind Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s quiet demeanor is a ‘killer instinct’]
The Terps entered halftime with a 42-28 lead, making 16 of their last 24 shots. The Antelopes shot 28 percent in the half and made just five field goals outside of Tyon Grant-Foster, who scored 51 points in their two tournament games a year ago.
Coach Bryce Drew’s team is unlike most mid-majors. It has a former high-major coach, tournament experience and plenty of size with all five starters being at least 6-foot-4. But Maryland’s defense — which ranks No. 3 nationally since Feb. 1, according to BartTorvik — held the Antelopes to 28.6 percent as they failed to make more than three consecutive baskets.
Maryland’s lead never shrunk to less than 13 in the second half and reached as high as 32.
The Terps continued pounding the paint, where they finished with 44 points. On top of Reese scoring the team-high, fellow big man Derik Queen added 12 points and 15 rebounds.
“I feel like they weren’t used to the size of our bigs,” Harris-Smith said. “[They’re] in a conference where it’s not as big of guys, especially those dominant [ones] like Derik and Ju. I feel like that’s our biggest mismatch.”
The Terps advanced to the second round in all of their last three tournament appearances, but that’s where their season ended each time — on Sunday, they’ll have the opportunity to make their first Sweet 16 since 2016.
