After losing four games by five or less, Maryland basketball turned the corner on Sunday
Maryland got a three-point win over Nebraska on Sunday after the Terps left with a 69-66 victory. While Maryland was on the right side of a narrow margin, the Terrapins know plenty about close losses. The 14-5 Terps have lost four games by five or less points. Head coach Kevin Willard was asked about his team learning through the close losses and he thinks his team is there but they just have to learn how to win the close games on the road.
"When you have as many setbacks and tough losses as we've had, but then you look down, you think, 'All right, Rod's going through it for the first time," Willard said. "Ja'Kobi's really going through this league for the first time. Derik's going through college basketball for the first time. Selton's going through this league for the first time. You gotta make sure that they are learning, that they are staying positive and that they are understanding that there are going to be some setbacks in this league. You're going to play bad."
"This league is, if not the best basketball league, one of the best basketball leagues in the country. And every night you're going to get tested. So just getting them to stay positive and understand and keep getting better. And I think we are getting better at a lot of certain aspects. We just got to learn how to punch it punch through on the road."
Maryland will now play two games in a row on the road when it faces Illinois and Indiana in the next two games. But maybe the Terps figured something out on Sunday at home. Maryland's lead began to creep into the danger zone, but as Willard noted, his team pulled it out in the end.
"You got give credit to Nebraska," Willard began. "I thought the tip -in was, it was 66-59, they got a tip-in, we got two good looks and that's really where it's tough with their defense. You just can't come down, throw it into the post. I think it's what's always made Fred's teams really good is that towards those stretches of the game, you don't have post play. And so we rode Ja'Kobi. I thought we settled for a couple shots, but give them credit. I really thought they did a good job buckling down, getting stops and getting out transition."
Maryland will test out its road savy on Thursday when it travels to Illinois.
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Trent began writing and covering Michigan athletics back in 2020. He became a credentialed member of the media in 2021. Trent began writing with Sports Illustrated in 2023 and became the Senior Writer for Michigan Wolverines On SI for the 2024 football season. Trent is also the managing editor for Maryland On SI. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.