Maryland men’s basketball’s reliance on its starters might be even more pronounced for the rest of the season.
Even before Wednesday night’s 78-66 victory over Iowa at Xfinity Center in College Park, the Terps knew they would be without sophomore small forward Noah Batchelor, whose left leg was in a walking boot. Their numbers got even thinner during the game.
Senior small forward Jordan Geronimo appeared to bang knees with Hawkeyes junior small forward Payton Sandfort in the first half and limped off the court. Geronimo — who averaged 5.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 24 games, including 21 starts — was ruled out at halftime and had a large bag of ice on his right knee.
Then early in the second half, sophomore power forward Mady Traore — making his second consecutive start and third of his career — injured his left knee while diving for a defensive rebound. The New Mexico State transfer did not put any weight on his left leg and needed to be helped off the court and into the locker room.
Coach Kevin Willard said afterward that he had no updates on Geronimo or Traore. Asked whether a shorter bench would force him to rely even more on a starting group of fifth-year seniors Jahmir Young and Donta Scott, junior Julian Reese and freshman DeShawn Harris-Smith, who has already accounted for almost 75% of the team’s points, Willard noted he would likely have to move Scott from small to power forward and rotate freshman Jamie Kaiser Jr. with Scott.
“We’ll make it work,” Willard vowed. “That’s the one thing about this group. … At this time of the year, you’ve just got to figure it out.”
Here are three observations from Wednesday night’s win.
Coming off the bench might be better for DeShawn Harris-Smith
For the first 23 games of his college career, the freshman shooting guard was an everyday fixture in the starting lineup. But in his second straight game as a reserve, he offered a glimpse of the promise many anticipated when he was the top recruit from the state of Virginia.
Harris-Smith set career highs in points (17) and field goals (seven) and compiled six rebounds and three assists in nearly 32 minutes, outplaying Traore and senior point guard Jahari Long, who started in Harris-Smith’s place. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound freshman also limited Sandfort to six points on 3 of 10 shooting (including 0-for-5 from 3-point range) in the second half after he had lit up Maryland for 13 points on 4 of 6 shooting (3 of 4 from long distance) in the first.
Harris-Smith, who had last reached double digits in scoring Jan. 11 against Michigan, acknowledged that coming off the bench has helped him watch and absorb the nuances as the game unfolds.
“I get to see how the other team is playing us, how the other team is guarding Jahmir,” he said. “Him being a fifth-year guy, it’s easy for him to come in and make the right reads as soon as the game starts. Me being a freshman, there are different ball screens and different ways they’re guarding [Reese], and when I’m on the bench, I can see how they’re playing everybody, and I feel like I can come in and be an instant impact because I’ve already been watching.”
As welcoming as his offensive contributions were, Willard seemed happier with Harris-Smith’s defense against Sandfort. While Iowa coach Fran McCaffery declined to discuss the Terps’ work against Sandfort because “I’ll be fined,” Willard pointed out that Harris-Smith asked to match up against Sandfort in the second half.
“His defense on Sandfort was the difference in the game,” Willard said. “He really started being physical, he was chasing him off screens. Sandfort hit some tough twos in the second half, but I thought he really did a good job of really staying on him and chasing him off. I thought once they stopped getting easy threes, everything changed. That just gave us a little bit more confidence.”
Terps went inside to set up the outside
The offense was its typical wayward self behind the 3-point line in the first half, making only 2 of 13 shots (15.4%). In the second half, the Terps took only four attempts, converting two.
That’s because Maryland made a more concerted effort to attack the basket with Reese and Scott setting up in the post and Young and Harris-Smith attacking off the dribble. After shooting 61.1% (11 of 18) inside the 3-point arc in the first half, the Terps made 58.9% (10 of 17) of their 2-point shots in the second half and outscored Iowa, 40-28, in the paint.
Willard said he thinks the Terps labor on offense at home because they begin too timidly.
“One of the biggest things for us at halftime and watching our offense and throughout the second half was just reminding them that we are a little more athletic,” he said. “So let’s take advantage of drives, let’s take advantage of getting the basketball inside. I thought we did a good job of getting the ball inside to Donta and getting the ball inside to Ju off pick and rolls.”
From McCaffery’s perspective, Young’s explosion in the second half that yielded 15 of his game-high 21 points and 13-for-13 production at the free-throw line for the game proved too much for the Hawkeyes.
“It really comes down to Young,” he said. “He’s a handful. He was getting to the rim. He was getting to the free-throw line. We were trying to corral him the best we could, but he’s a crafty guy. He’s really got great scoring instincts.”
Maryland emphasized ball protection after halftime
In the first half, the Terps turned the ball over eight times, which Iowa converted into 14 points and helped them take a 37-31 halftime lead.
In the second half, Maryland gave the ball away only three times, and Iowa could only muster four points from those errors. The Terps scored only six points off of four Hawkeyes turnovers in the same frame, but their ability to maintain possession and avoid giving Iowa chances was critical in overcoming that 10-point deficit midway through the second half.
Willard went back to his comment about the offense to explain the team’s improved ball protection.
“I think for some reason, it just takes them a little time to get adjusted,” he said. “It’s been every home game all year. It hasn’t just been recently. It was Coppin, it was UMBC, we did the same thing at home. These guys love playing at home, but it’s just taken them a little time to relax on the offensive end and get into a rhythm.”
McCaffery acknowledged that his players might have lowered their intensity level.
“We weren’t as active,” he said. “We did press a little bit more in the first half, but I thought our activity level was definitely better in the first half. It needs to be better in the second half, and it wasn’t.”
No. 14 Illinois at Maryland
Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
TV: Fox
Radio: 105.7 FM