Maryland men’s basketball crushes Oregon in Big Ten Tournament | TAKEAWAYS

Maryland men’s basketball isn’t ready to end its season just yet.

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Facing a one-and-done scenario, the Terps scored the game’s first nine points and 21 of the first 29 to blitz Oregon, 70-60, in a Big Ten Tournament first-round game Tuesday evening at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

Maryland (12-20), the No. 17 seed, ended a four-game skid and avoided its earliest exit from the league tournament since joining the conference for the 2014-15 campaign. The team will meet No. 9 seed Iowa (20-11) in the second round on Wednesday at noon.

Graduate student point guard David Coit set the tone for the Terps by scoring 12 of his game-high 17 points in the first half and adding four rebounds, three assists and three steals, and senior power forward Elijah Saunders scored 15 points on 5 of 6 shooting from 3-point range, collected five rebounds and blocked two shots.

Redshirt freshman shooting guard Andre Mills racked up 12 points, six rebounds and five assists, senior small forward Solomon Washington had 12 points and six rebounds and freshman shooting guard Darius Adams came off the bench to register 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Senior center Nate Bittle led the Ducks (12-20) with 16 points, six rebounds and two assists, junior power forward Kwame Evans Jr. compiled 14 points and nine rebounds, and senior shooting guard Takai Simpkins amassed 10 points and five rebounds. But Oregon ended its year with three losses in its last four games and fell in the first round of a league tournament for the first time since 2009, when that squad was bounced from the Pac-12 postseason by Washington State, 62-40.

Here are three takeaways from Maryland’s victory.

The Terps found their offense early

Establishing a consistent offense has been a challenge all season for Maryland. Except for Tuesday.

The Terps’ 9-0 opening was built on a 4 of 7 showing from the floor. Later in the first half, they drained four consecutive shots on the court to fuel a 10-0 run in a 2:38 span.

Maryland’s efficiency behind the 3-point line wasn’t sparkling. But the offense connected on nine 3-pointers, continuing a modest streak of at least nine 3-pointers in five of its last six games.

Unlike a 64-54 setback to Oregon on Jan. 2, the Terps did not cede too much ground to their bigger opponent. They trailed, 30-24, in points in the paint, which was a drastic reversal from the Ducks’ 32-12 advantage in the lane more than two months ago.

Meanwhile, Oregon couldn’t buy a basket

The Ducks erupted for 85 points in their previous contest, a 6-point win against Washington. Reaching half of that total proved taxing.

Oregon missed its first 11 shots of the game, including six from 3-point range. The team’s first six points were free throws before Bittle dropped in a layup with 8:46 left in the first half.

Even after the Ducks embarked on a 20-5 burst in a 5:47 span to narrow the deficit to 63-54 with 2:15 remaining, they were forced to foul Maryland to stop the clock, and the Terps converted 7 of 8 free throws to seal the win.

The Ducks went through scoreless stretches of 4:11, 2:37, 2:02, 3:57 and 3:17 in the opening frame. At halftime, they had 12 points on 3 of 22 shooting and 0 of 10 behind the 3-point arc, and Coit had 12 points on 5 of 11 shooting and 2 of 8 from 3-point range.

Maryland kept turnovers down and rebounds up

An inability to protect the ball and crash the boards has haunted the Terps this winter. They showed they could do both against Oregon.

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Maryland dominated the rebounding department, 38-28. Much of that could be traced to how many shots the Ducks missed, but the Terps also owned a 13-7 advantage in offensive boards, which contributed to a 10-7 edge in second-chance points.

Maryland also reined in a penchant for giveaways. Entering the game averaging 12.4 turnovers — the second-worst mark in the Big Ten — the team finished the game with two more turnovers than Oregon (10-8), but outscored the Ducks in points off turnovers, 10-9.

The Terps will need to extend that proficiency to Wednesday’s second-round game if they hope to extend their stay in the Midwest by another day.

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun. 

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