Maryland men’s basketball head coach Buzz Williams has preached patience and the process as his measurement of success amid the team’s struggles.

Maryland came into Saturday’s matchup against Old Dominion having lost five of its last six games and failed to stay competitive against top opponents. The issues with turnovers, lack of assists and a strong shooting performance masked those flaws on Sunday.

The Terps’ signs of improvement showed up on the scoreboard on Sunday, as they beat Old Dominion 73-58 at Xfinity Center.

“It was encouraging in a lot of ways for them to see some of the things that we talk about … in practice,” Williams said. “The group is continuing to have [a] positive trajectory.”

Maryland (7-6, 0-2 Big Ten) came into the season in a likely rebuilding year. Playing five teams ranked in the top 23 in KenPom and the net rankings was a recipe for disaster — and the Terps lost all five games.

Turnovers and a lack of assists had been issues for Maryland all season. It averaged 14 per game coming in — the highest mark in the Big Ten and Williams has cited live-ball turnovers as the difference in several losses. Against Old Dominion, the Terps improved significantly in that aspect.

Maryland scored 12 points off turnovers while holding the Monarchs to just six points and had 14 assists to just five.

The Terps were once again playing without their best player Pharrel Payne. It trotted out its seventh different starting lineup this season: Darius Adams, Andre Mills, Isaiah Watts, Solomon Washington and Elijah Saunders.

The five starters led the team in scoring, with Adams having a team-high 18 and Solomon Washington had a 13-point and 13-rebound double-double, while the bench contributed only 7 points despite having Rice and Coit.

It was an interesting choice not to start second-leading scorer Diggy Coit, but Maryland found something with him on the bench. The Terps jumped out to a 17-0 lead before Coit entered the game — its largest run to open a game since 2003. It took nearly six minutes for the Monarchs to score, as Maryland forced several early turnovers.

“I’m not saying that group is the answer, but that group did accumulate more turkeys (three consecutive defensive stops), and more assists with fewer turnovers than any other group that we have played, whether they were healthy, not healthy, etc.,” Williams said. “So that’s a good start.”

Once Coit checked in, Maryland took better advantage of Old Dominion’s zone defense. Coit didn’t score in the game but had six assists, as he consistently found open shooters.

The Terps knocked down 10-of-19 three-pointers in the first half. Watts caught fire to end the half, knocking down three in a row, while Adams and Mills combined to make six as Maryland’s lead stretched to 27 at halftime. The Monarchs’ 18 points were the fewest the Terps have allowed in a first half this season.

Watts made his first start of the season, while Mills has been in and out of the starting lineup, but the two guards were ready. Watts scored 17 in the first half on 6-of-7 from the field with four threes and Mills added 11 of his own.

Early in the second half, the offense looked stagnant, like it often has this season. Maryland failed to make a field goal for a six-minute stretch and finally got its first bench points 27 minutes into the game.

The offense never found the same success it had early on. Watts and Mills were held scoreless in the second half.

The Monarchs outscored Maryland 40-28 in the second half and made the Terps sweat late. An 11-0 run brought the game within 12 points, as another field goal drought for Maryland stretched over four minutes.

Maryland avoided a collapse late, eventually earning the 15-point win in its final non-conference contest of the season.

“I think it’s just staying locked in, you know, whether or not we’re winning or losing the game,” Adams said. “We’re not happy about how this went, but we’re definitely gonna learn, learn from it, and it’s gonna be different [in] Big Ten play.”