SAN FRANCISCO — Kevin Willard nearly always spends Maryland men’s basketball games roaming the sideline, pacing back and forth in front of his team’s bench. With just under three minutes left, for a moment, he took a seat.

It was almost a signal of defeat. He removed four starters from the game. They all hung their heads once they sat down, and in the rare instance that they looked up, some of their eyes watered.

For the first time this season, the Terps were thoroughly outclassed. No. 4-seed Maryland fell to No. 1-seed Florida, 87-71 — marking the end of Maryland’s best season in nearly a decade, and potentially Willard’s time in College Park as many believe he’s headed to Villanova.

“I don’t know what I’m doing, I’ll just be honest with you,” Willard said. “… I love College Park, I love Maryland. But when you’re at this point in your career, you’re looking at things, I have to take everything into consideration about what’s going to move forward.”

The Baltimore Sun reported that Maryland administrators have told at least one prominent men’s basketball booster that Kevin Willard plans to leave for Villanova.

“That report is not true. Our focus remains on keeping Coach Willard at the University of Maryland,” an athletic department official told The Diamondback.

Willard has had a wild 12 days, and grabbed national headlines with comments that are rare to see from coaches. Asked if he wishes he approached things differently, Willard said “Nope, not at all.”

[Kevin Willard, Maryland men’s basketball’s tumultuous timeline amid Villanova opening]

The Terps (27-9, 14-6 Big Ten) never lost by more than two baskets in its first 35 games. But none of those games were played under the looming cloud of its coach’s departure, and against a team as good as the Gators.

With Florida ranking top-five in the country in offensive rebounding percentage and Maryland struggling on the boards in its previous four games, Willard knew that was a key heading into the meeting. His team lost the battle on the glass, 42-20. Florida scored 21 second-chance points, which was part of why it scored more points than any other Maryland opponent this year.

Senior big man Julian Reese led the team with eight rebounds and added 12 points in his final game at Maryland.
“I’m just kind of grateful I was able to be a part of a program like this. This is a blessing to be a part [of] through the ups and downs,” Reese said. “Even though we lost, I came out with my chin up.”

Freshman big Derik Queen, a projected lottery pick in the NBA draft, was second with five rebounds. He scored 27 points in what might be his last game as a Terp, saying he needed to talk with his mom, agency and Willard before making a decision on if he will return.

Reese, who had at least 15 points in each of the Terps’ first two tournament games, scored seven of their first nine. His third basket tied the game, but an 11-0 Florida run made it 20–9 nearly midway through the first.

Then Ja’Kobi Gillespie took over.

The junior guard hit three 3-pointers and scored the Terps’ next 11 points, tying the game at 24. Shortly after, they took their first lead since scoring the opening basket.

Gillespie hung with a first team All-American in Walter Clayton Jr., entering the break with a game-high 15 points to Clayton’s 12 as Florida led, 40-38. But Gillespie only played 13 minutes in the second half, picking up his fourth foul about eight minutes into the half before fouling out with 2:55 remaining.

[Derik Queen sends Maryland men’s basketball to first Sweet 16 since 2016 with 72-71 win]

Queen scored 17 of his points in the second half and Maryland continued feeding the freshman — he even made his fifth 3-pointer in the last four games after making two in the regular season.

“We had a lot of defensive lapses, but they were capitalizing off of it. They were making their threes, their shots. If they didn’t make it, they got the offensive rebound and repeated,” Queen said.

Maryland’s defense slipped amid Queen’s hot streak as Florida made nine of its first 13 attempts. Clayton didn’t record a field goal in that span but Gillespie picked up three fouls in the first eight minutes of the half, bringing him to four total and sending him to the bench.

The Gators missed their next four shots, but that lull was brief. They grabbed a game-high 18-point lead shortly after and rode out the game’s end. Maryland’s starters checked out with around two minutes left in the contest.

Willard said “this was by far the best team I’ve been around” — it also may be his last with Maryland, potentially leaving the Terps without an athletic director and a men’s basketball coach.

His last comment was interrupted by a ringing phone.

“I understand fans are going to be pissed because I’m in limbo and this and that. I get it. I’m kind of pissed, to be honest with you, because I didn’t expect to be in this situation. But…,” Willard said before the moderator told him he could leave.

“The phone saved me,” he said, leaving the podium, and Maryland fans with unanswered questions.