Kevin Willard walked the sideline grabbing his tie to dab his tearing eyes. Maryland’s starting lineup — nicknamed the “Crab 5” — sat together on the bench, some with towels covering their faces to mask their disappointed and defeated expressions. As the game clock fell under a minute in the second half, the Terps knew their season was over.
The No. 1 seed Florida Gators defeated the No. 4 seed Maryland Terrapins, 87-71, Thursday evening at the Chase Center in San Francisco. This was the first time all season Maryland lost a game by double digits.
“[I’m] extremely disappointed that the season’s over and it’s a tough loss,” said head coach Kevin Willard. “But, [I’m] thrilled at what this group of guys was able to come together and do. The season that we had, I’m just proud of them. They fought all year long.”
Maryland’s biggest struggle throughout the game was its inability to rebound the ball. Florida dominated the glass, out rebounding the Terps by 22.
The Gators were the ninth best offensive rebounding team in the country entering the game and continued the trend securing 15 offensive boards, which they turned into 21 second chance points. Maryland had 13 defensive rebounds in comparison.
“They just kind of out hustled us,” said Maryland senior Julian Reese. “They kind of [were] just more prepared in the rebound battle I guess.”
Despite its major rebounding advantage, Florida only led Maryland by two points at halftime due to its lack of ball control. The Gators had 13 turnovers in the first half, leading to 12 Terrapin points — a significant aid to Maryland’s otherwise struggling offense.
Florida held Maryland without a made basket for upwards of three minutes on multiple occasions throughout the first half. The Gators also forced the Terps into seven turnovers during that time.
In the stretches where Maryland’s offense played well, it leaned on the production of Reese and Ja’Kobi Gillespie. The duo scored 23 of the Terps’ 38 first half points.
Gillespie was the half’s highest scorer, dropping 15 points — nine of which came from three. Reese scored eight points missing only one of his four shot attempts. Derik Queen added 10 points shooting a perfect six-for-six from the free throw line.
The Gators’ offense was buoyed by their own duo of Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard. That pair hit four combined threes, providing the team with 24 of its 40 first-half points. Florida, as a whole, shot 40 percent from beyond the arc.
Florida’s prolific shooting continued into the second half. The Gators shot over 50 percent from the field during the final 20 minutes along with five made 3-pointers.
Six players finished with double-digit points and only four of those players started the game. Sophomore forward Thomas Haugh and junior guard Denzel Aberdeen combined for 25 points off the bench shooting 50 percent from the floor.
“We had a lot of defensive lapses, but they [were] just capitalizing off of it,” Queen said.
Maryland only received three bench points getting all of its scoring from four of the five members of its starting lineup.
Queen ended as the game’s leading scorer with 27 points. Gillespie fouled out in the final minutes of the second half, exiting the game with 17 points. Rodney Rice and Reese each finished with 12 points, while Selton Miguel finished the game scoreless, missing all seven shots he attempted.
The Terps offense never found a rhythm against Florida’s defense — a unit that entered the game with the ninth best rating in the nation according to KenPom. Maryland shot just under 40 percent from the floor and 32 percent from beyond the arc.
The Terps defense failed to force the Gators into turnovers at a similar rate to the first half, resulting in only five points off of their four turnovers in the second half. Maryland’s lack of rebounding also negatively impacted its offensive production, leading to only seven fastbreak points for a team that averages around 13 per game.
While the loss hurts for Maryland fans, the lack of direction for the program’s future makes the defeat feel even more impactful.
Willard’s name has circulated in rumors connecting him to the head coaching vacancy at Villanova.
The rumors continued growing in stature over Maryland’s time in the NCAA Tournament. Willard aired grievances about the lack of sufficient support the program received, even citing a situation earlier in the season where he wanted to spend an extra day with his team in New York City for the Christmas holiday. It was ultimately denied for financial reasons.
Willard was asked postgame about his potential future, whether that be at Maryland or elsewhere, to which he responded:
“I don’t know what I’m doing, I’ll just be honest with you. I haven’t talked to my agent. I haven’t talked to my wife. … I haven’t talked to anybody. I have an agent. I’m sure he’s talking to people because that’s what agents like to do, but, you know, I don’t know.”
While Willard’s possible exit looms over the program, Maryland will almost certainly return just two starters — Gillespie and Rice — assuming that neither transfers during the offseason.
Queen is only a freshman and could return to the Terrapin locker room, but that is an unlikely scenario since ESPN projects him as a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft. Reese and Miguel will graduate and can’t return next season.
The Terps enter the off-season with uncertainty and a plethora of unanswered questions. The magical ride that was Maryland’s 2024-25 season has abruptly evolved into a bleak unknown.
