When a revamped Big Ten began conference play in football in the fall, a curious trend emerged.
Teams that traveled at least two time zones ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard, compiling a 9-17 record. This led to pontificating on whether the additions of Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington were having a detrimental impact on the rest of the league.
It remains to be seen whether a similar trend will manifest itself in basketball. Although each member of the Big Ten played two games each earlier this month, the West Coast schools played each other.
As the conference begins preparing for the bulk of its schedule this week, senior forward Julian Reese said he thinks Maryland (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten) is ready for the challenge of the cross-country trip, which begins with road games against the Huskies (8-4, 0-2) Thursday at 9:30 p.m. and the No. 9 Ducks (11-1, 1-1) Sunday at 4 p.m.
“Another big test for us,” he said of the trip to the Pacific Northwest. “We’ll see how we do as we try to get a road win in conference play. We already have an idea of what it means to play at Purdue. So just going into that road air and road environment and just being able to go about our business is going to be good for us.
Here are three observations from Saturday’s 81-66 win over UMES.
Julian Reese and Derik Queen are just as important on offense as perimeter shooters
There’s been a lot of talk about the importance of being efficient from the 3-point line, and that’s been illustrated by Maryland’s improving scoring rate thus far. But the inner presence of Reese and Queen is just as essential.
The duo provided a new example against the Hawks (4-12). With their teammates converting just 27.8 percent from 3-point range (5 of 18), Reese, a Randallstown native and St. Francis graduate, and Queen, a Baltimore native, combined to score 41 points (50 .6 of the team’s production) and collected 25 rebounds (67.6%).
The pair were critical in the second half against UMES, scoring 24 of the Terps’ 41 points in the process and ensuring they weren’t victims of a potential upset. The team’s long-distance woes didn’t seem to bother Reese.
“I feel like since guys weren’t hitting shots — we’re kind of used to hitting shots now — we were just getting down on ourselves,” he said. “Just staying true to our goals and our brand of basketball is what ultimately made us successful.” »
Reese had played in seven games since his last 20-point performance (20 in a 108-37 win over Canisius on Nov. 19). Reese didn’t say whether the streak impacted him, but coach Kevin Willard said Reese’s fast start Saturday was inspiring.
“He struggled a bit at the start of the games,” he said. “Just to see him get a few early buckets, you can kind of see it gave him a little bit more confidence.” I have been able to count on Julian these last three years. He’s just a guy that I know is going to bring it every night.
Formerly a starter, Jordan Geronimo is a nice complementary player coming off the bench
In fact, Geronimo, a fifth-year senior small forward, and second-year shooting guard DeShawn Harris-Smith are both former starters who were asked to contribute as reserves. And after a slow start, Geronimo won against UMES.
He scored nine points in just 9:35 of play. He made his first 3-point attempt of the season late in the first half and made dunks that got the crowd excited to give to Maryland its first four points of the second half.
Geronimo – who averaged 5.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 31 games, including 26 starts last winter – missed six games earlier with a hamstring injury, and Reese said that It was nice to see his teammate regain his footing.
“I feel like Jordan is going to affect the game in some way,” Reese said. “Sometimes he will score. It will always bounce back. He will play defense. He’ll always find a way to impact the game. That’s what we need, our liaison guy on the team who just gets the job done.
Geronimo’s outing helped Maryland outscore the Hawks, 16-7, on the bench, which was a welcome sight for Willard.
“It was good to see Jordan come out,” he said. “He missed a lot of time.”
Thursday in Washington begins a test of Maryland’s capabilities
The Terps were the first team left out of the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, receiving 119 points. The next three months will provide a truer view of their value in terms of securing a berth in the NCAA tournament.
In addition to meeting No. 9 Oregon on Sunday, Maryland will face No. 22 UCLA (11-2, 2-0) on Jan. 10, No. 24 Illinois (8-3 , 1-1) on January 23. , No. 18 Michigan State (10-2, 2-0) on February 26. The Terps will also face teams that received votes, like Indiana (9-3, 2-0). 1-1) on January 26, Wisconsin (10-3, 0-2) on January 29, Ohio State (8-4, 1-1) on February 6, Penn State (10-2, 1-1)) on March 1 and Michigan (9-3, 2-0) on March 5.
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The Terps previously lost to No. 21 Purdue, 83-78, on Dec. 8 and beat the Buckeyes, 83-59, on Dec. 4. So Reese is happy with his chances.
“I see the team going far,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of good teams, a lot of successful teams in my four years here, and I feel like this team has a lot of talent, and everyone is just starting to find their role and doing what the team needs them to do instead of worrying about other things I feel like we’re doing well with that (for) me. I feel like if I keep doing my thing, bouncing back and doing things like that and taking care of business and being a leader, everything will be fine.
While Maryland leads the Big Ten in point differential (plus-26.2 per game) and ranks second in points allowed (61.1) and third in points scored (87.2) and rebounds (39.8), Willard said he would like to see players build on those rebounding numbers and increase his trips to the free throw line, where the team ranks 13th.
“We had a little trouble getting to the free throw line this year,” he said. “Our guards need to rebound the ball better. And we need to get a little closer to the free throw line.
Do you have a current tip? Contact Edward Lee at [email protected]410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.
FOLLOWING
Maryland to Washington
Thursday, 9:30 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: 105.7 FM
