Maryland led by six with under four minutes to play in the second half. The Terps led by 11 earlier in the half, but since that point, they witnessed their lead slowly evaporate — a trend not unfamiliar to Maryland fans this season, especially on the road.
Nebraska cut Maryland’s lead to two as the clock fell under a minute. Derik Queen had the ball on the right wing, hounded by the Nebraska defense. In an effort to keep the possession alive, Queen threw the ball to Selton Miguel on the opposite wing. Miguel dribbled toward the basket settling around the baseline and hoisted a right handed floater that touched nothing but nylon.
No. 25 Maryland (19-6, 9-5 Big Ten) held on to defeat Nebraska (16-9, 6-8 Big Ten), 83-75, Thursday night, sweeping the two game season series against the Cornhuskers. It’s the first time since 2021 that Maryland has defeated Nebraska twice in the regular season.
“I feel like we earned that win today,” said Maryland forward Julian Reese. “It’s just a reflection of our hard work and just staying together as a team.”
Miguel’s shot came with under 40 seconds to play and proved to be the end to any momentum Nebraska had left. It was also a microcosm of the dominance of the Terps starting unit that all scored double digit points.
“That’s just a reflection of how well rounded the team is,” said Reese. “Derik got it going early for us and he kept it going the whole game and ‘Kobi got it going a little late and I feel like that’s just how dangerous we are as a team and that’s going to take us long … into March.”
Every starter played over 30 minutes with Miguel logging the least — 34 minutes. Head coach Kevin Willard deployed a three man bench consisting of Jordan Geronimo, DeShawn Harris-Smith, and Jay Young that amassed a total of 17 minutes of action. The bench was scoreless on two shots — both by Geronimo — and were all negative in plus minus.
Queen led the way for the starters collecting his second 20-point double-double in as many games. Queen scored a game high 24 points missing only two of the 11 shots he attempted and cashed in on all six of his free throws.
Reese picked up his eleventh double-double of the season making it the third time this season Maryland’s frontcourt duo recorded double-doubles in the same game.
“I think we’re undefeated when me and DQ got double-doubles,” Reese correctly said postgame. The other two times were against Villanova and Maryland Eastern Shore.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, and Miguel all ended in double figures, scoring a combined 21 points from beyond the arc. Gillespie and Miguel were responsible for 18 of those points making three 3-pointers apiece.
The Cornhuskers put up a terrific fight behind the scoring duo of Juwan Gary and Brice Williams. Gary led Nebraska with 22 points and Williams was a bucket behind him with 20. Williams scored 12 of his 20 in the second half helping the Cornhuskers cut into the Terps’ 11 point advantage.
The majority of Gary’s points came in the first half as Nebraska fought back from another early deficit.
Maryland scored 42 points in the first half despite ending eight possessions with turnovers that led to ten Nebraska points. The Cornhuskers accumulated 35 points of their own fighting back from an eight point deficit following the first media timeout.
Gary led all scorers at the half with 15 points and was the catalyst for Nebraska’s first lead of the game.
The senior forward knocked down his first 3-pointer of the half right as Reese was called for a foul under the basket. Upon review, Reese’s foul was upgraded to a flagrant one sending senior center Braxton Meah to the free throw line. Meah made both free throws to complete the 5-point possession.
The Terps responded and regained a comfortable lead later in the half due to a 7-3 scoring run that occurred with the game tied at 25. Maryland eventually built their advantage to seven before the break.
“I was really impressed with our guys that every time they made a run, you know, we had a big time answer,” said Willard. “It shows you that we’ve grown up a little bit as a team.”
Maryland’s win is its sixth quad one victory of the season and most likely ensures they remain in the top 25 of the AP poll after falling seven spots following their road loss to Ohio State last week.
The Terps return to College Park for their next game against Iowa on Sunday. With a win, they will secure double digit conference wins for the first time since Willard’s debut season.
