Maryland Basketball fans take aim at Kevin Willard after Northwestern loss: 'Turgeon 2.0'
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Following a brutal road loss to Northwestern in overtime on Thursday night, it's safe to say that fans aren't happy with the basketball program at the moment. In particular, many fans are taking aim at head coach Kevin Willard, who's in his third year with the program. Although things started to look promising during a two-game winning streak against No. 22 UCLA and Minnesota, sloppy plan and mental mistakes ultimately proved costly on the road in Evanston. The Terps battled to stay in it, forcing overtime in a hostile environment. But a buzzer-beater by Northwestern's Nick Martinelli sent Maryland home with a two-point loss.
Making matters worse, the Terrapins have yet to win a road game this season, and fans are starting to wonder if Willard can get things back on track.
Here are just some of the fan reactions following Thursday night's loss:
Starting to think Willard ain't it, folks
— Kyle (@kfd2010) January 17, 2025
This team just can’t win on the road…
— casey (@bmore_cowboys) January 17, 2025
This team is charmin soft. Perimeter defense doesn’t exist. And we give up way too many offensive rebounds with the length and athleticism. There isn’t an alpha on this team
— Ryan Raley (@jrraley32) January 17, 2025
Turgeon 2.0 as coach. Reese was really good but his hands cost us the game. Jakobi can’t even dribble past half court with no press in 10 seconds in a crucial possession. 2 on 1 to go up 4 in OT and we don’t get a shot off and foul them on a lose ball for free throws😂 joke
— DMVsports (@DmVsports550) January 17, 2025
I have not been a KW hater, but with this effort tonight I’m officially starting to sour on him. Can’t get his team ready to win on the road and his offense is looking very Turgeon-esque. 👎
— Matt Carlson (@MattCarlson18) January 17, 2025
The good news is that Maryland returns home for a game against Nebraska on Sunday, before heading off to hostile territory for another road matchup against No. 19 Illinois. There's no doubt that Willard and his team have some things to work on, but it's still seems too early to call it quits on the season (and the head coach) if you're part of the fanbase. The Big Ten is incredibly deep, loaded with teams that are capable of winning a conference championship and making a deep run in March. Bad losses are going to happen, just ask the Michigan Wolverines.
With 13 games remaining in the regular season, the Terps certainly have enough opportunities to get things turned around and ensure that they're playing their best basketball when it matters most.... in March.
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Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.
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