COLLEGE PARK, MD — It took a while for Maryland point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie to get going. The Belmont transfer averaged 17 points and eight assists on Maryland’s recent two-game road trip. But at the start of Wednesday night’s contest against No. 17 Wisconsin, Gillespie forced shots and committed a pair of turnovers.
Yet the junior ball handler kept his composure during Maryland’s biggest game of the season to this point. After missing five of his six first-half-shots, Gillespie nailed two critical second-half triples.
The pair of makes provided much needed momentum for Maryland, who charged forward to a statement, 76-68 victory over Wisconsin.
“In the first half, we looked like a team that’s never played against a Wisconsin team,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard said. “In the second half, we really figured out what we were doing… and I thought we were much more settled in with how to play.”
Gillespie netted a team-high 16 points for Maryland (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten) and first ignited a sold-out Xfinity Center crowd with ten minutes to play. A possession after sophomore Deshawn Harris-Smith sank just his fifth three-pointer this year, Gillespie eyed another long-range shot.
As part of an 11-0 Maryland run, Gillespie planted his feet on the right perimeter and swished a triple, putting Maryland up 49-48. Wisconsin (16-5, 6-4 Big Ten) never held another lead.
The Badgers, led by a game-high 23 points with six rebounds by graduate guard John Tonje, kept pace with Maryland until the under four timeout. Gillespie put Maryland in the driver’s seat for good right after the stoppage.
The junior stared at the rim just a few feet in front of center court. With his defender backing off, Gillespie launched a straightaway three-pointer that banked off the backboard before falling — a dagger that sent Maryland fans into a frenzy.
Gillespie’s shot gave the Terps a two-score cushion for the rest of the game. It was also the team’s final triple, in a second half that saw them shoot a blistering 64% from deep.
“We’ve found our rhythm, and we’re just trying to keep that going into the next couple of games,” sophomore guard Rodney Rice said after scoring 16 points. “We can put the ball in the basket from outside, so we’re confident.”
After shooting just under 50% from three across its previous two games, Wisconsin made just three of its 11 attempts from deep in the second half.
“When you play against Wisconsin for the first time, that offense is really hard to guard,” Willard said. “Throughout the second half, guys figured it out.”
Maryland led by halftime, 32-31, after putting together its most electric sequence of the first half right before the buzzer sounded.
Trailing by four in the period’s final minutes, fifth year guard Selton Miguel made a left-wing three-pointer, creating a rumble within the crowd that erupted after Rice hit a matching three on the Terps’ next offensive possession.
The six-point swing provided Maryland with its second lead of the opening half and its first since a 5-2 advantage that lasted less than 30 seconds near the game’s opening.
Rice’s three-pointer came at the end of a period dominated by senior forward Julian Reese.
The reigning AP men’s basketball player of the week netted a team-high nine points in the first half while making four of his first five shots. The senior forward later finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
In contrast to Reese, Rice and freshman Derik Queen struggled out of the gate. The duo had combined to shoot a 49% clip against Illinois and Indiana. On Wednesday night though, they missed their first nine shots as a pair.
Gillespie entered halftime, too, with just six points on 1-6 shooting.
“[Reese] got us through the first half; I thought he was physical and dominant,” Willard said. “The bench gave [Gillespie and Queen] a chance to settle in and catch their breath.”
Maryland bounced back from its first-half shooting struggles thanks to its best home crowd of the season — a season-high 17,950 fans in attendance for Gold Rush night.
“When it’s loud, it’s definitely tough for the other team to get going,” Rice said. “In different parts of the game the crowd helps us out a lot.”
The Badgers struggled in the face of a raucous environment. Wiscopnsin committed the game’s first five turnovers and shot just 15-for-21 (71%) from the charity stripe — well below its nation-leading 85.3% mark entering the contest.
With the full-force support of both celebrities (namely Scott Van Pelt and Frances Tiafoe) and students, the Terps grabbed its fourth Quad 1 win of the year — a victory that also gives Maryland a very good shot at being ranked come next week.
Maryland now has eight days off, its longest break of the season, before traveling to Ohio State (12-8, 4-5 Big Ten) next Thursday. The Terps cruised to a double-digit home win over the Buckeyes in their conference opener and now seek a season sweep in Columbus. Tipoff of that contest is set for 7 p.m. EST.