Maryland Basketball: Kevin Willard on life in the new Big Ten
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With the Terrapins now sitting at the No. 2 spot in the Big Ten, it's safe to say they've enjoyed their first season in the newly expanded conference. And although traveling from coast-to-coast can present some challenges, head coach Kevin Willard says the benefits far outweigh the negatives.
Speaking with Jim Rome during a recent interview, Willard shared his thoughts on the new-look Big Ten conference.
"It's actually been great," Willard said. "I tell this to fans all of the time, you know, we got to go out to the University of Washington, University of Oregon. I've never been out there to see two great universities, great athletic programs. And then to have USC and UCLA, the Los Angeles market. I think it's... we're the only conference that goes coast-to-coast. We play in the New York market with Rutgers. You've got the D.C. market with us, Chicago with Northwestern. And then now with USC and UCLA, you get the Los Angeles market. I think it's a great opportunity for kids, a great opportunity for universities, and I think it's been great. I've loved every second of it."
The Terrapins made the long trip out west for matchups at Washington and Oregon (a stretch where the Terps went 0-2), but Willard says the exposure to new markets is something that benefits everyone.
"I think the good thing about where we are now in this conference is we travel pretty good," Willard said. "I think the conference did as good of a job this year... I think they'll get better as we kind of recognize the fact that maybe we have to change how we do some of the travel. But, I think for the first year, travel was great. It wasn't that bad. We went out west, we didn't play well out west. But at the same time, it just wasn't that bad. I think the opportunities, and the fact that you can play in the LA market, you get the northwest market, there's just so many more benefits than there are negatives."
Maryland finished the regular season in the new-look Big Ten at 14-6 in conference play (24-7 overall). That performance was good enough to give them the No. 2 seed heading into the Big Ten tournament, where they received a double-bye and will play their first game on Friday, March 14. And with what is arguably the best starting five in all of college basketball, there are plenty of analysts who think the Terrapins can capture the conference tournament championship.
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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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