Published Nov 26, 2023
Three takeaways from Maryland's 68-55 win over South Alabama
Scott Greene  •  TerrapinSportsReport
Publisher

Maryland climbed back to .500 Saturday night, beating South Alabama, 68-55. Junior big man Julian Reese led the Terps with 19 points, 15 rebounds, an assist, a steal and four blocks for his second straight double-double and the 10th of his career.

The Terps have now won 14 straight home game dating back to last season and will look to extend that streak on Tuesday when they host Rider.

Below are three takeaways from the win.

Geronimo solidifies spot in starting lineup

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Maryland head coach Kevin Willard has been searching for a fifth starter, trying all of sophomore wing Noah Batchelor, freshman wing Jamie Kaiser Jr. and Indiana transfer Jordan Geronimo in the starting lineup at some point this season.

It has been Geronimo who has gotten the start in each of the Terps' past two home games and he's looked more comfortable each time out.

After finishing with nine points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes in the Terps' win over UMBC, Geronimo scored in double figures for the first time in a Maryland uniform Saturday versus South Alabama, finishing with 14 points and six rebounds while also playing a season-high 29 minutes.

Geronimo showed he can be an efficient scorer, going 5-of-8 from the field and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe. He also showed off his versatility and athleticism, recording three assists and a couple of steals in the win over South Alabama.

With Kaiser continuing to struggle shooting the ball from outside and Batchelor seeing a significant decrease in minutes, it looks like Geronimo has wrapped up that fifth starting spot for the foreseeable future.

Three-point shooting concerns continue to grow

It is no secret that Maryland's three-point shooting has been a major issue for the Terps so far this season.

Maryland entered Saturday's game versus South Alabama ranked 346th out of 351 teams nationally in three-point percentage, shooting an abysmal 22.94% from beyond the arc.

And after shooting 5-of-31 (16.1%) from beyond the arc versus the Jaguars, Maryland will fall even further nationally in three-point shooting and is currently the worst shooting Power 5 team in the country from deep.

The issues go beyond simply missing threes, however.

Freshmen guards DeShawn Harris-Smith and Jamie Kaiser Jr. went a combined 0-for-10 from the field versus South Alabama, with all 10 attempts coming from beyond the arc.

Harris-Smith was just 1-of-13 from deep coming into the South Alabama game, while Kaiser was slightly better at 3-for-18 from beyond the arc, with one of those makes a half court heave as time expired.

The Terps simply can't have their freshman guards missing all of their field goal attempts, going scoreless and expect to win many games. With Harris-Smith in particular, Willard needs to figure out a way to get him some easy buckets, whether in transition or designing plays that get him going downhill. In the case of Kaiser, he found success versus UMBC when the Terps pressed, getting steals and easy slams. But the Terps simply can't afford to have their freshmen, especially Harris-Smith attempting so many outside shots with nothing at or near the rim.

Lack of scorers

A quick look at the South Alabama box score and one is likely to do a double take. Maryland head coach Kevin Willard was even surprised to hear that his team only had four players score on Saturday night.

Donta Scott, Julian Reese, Jahmir Young and Jordan Geronimo all scored in double figures, while the rest of the team was 0-for-12 from the field with a pair of misses from the free-throw line.

We've already discussed the freshman guards' shooting woes versus South Alabama, but the Terps were unable to get any scoring production from backup point guard Jahari Long in 19 minutes of action and sophomore wing Noah Batchelor did not record a stat other than a pair of personal fouls.

In the preseason, Willard touted the Terps as a team that could go nine or possibly even 10 deep. But against the Jaguars Willard played just eight and didn't get any offensive production from half of them.

The Terps are likely to go seven, possibly eight deep once conference play starts, but they have to find another reliable sixth scorer, whether it is Kaiser, Long or perhaps even 7-footer Caelum Swanton-Rodger.

Maryland came into Saturday's game 320th in scoring offense, averaging 64.8 points per game. And while the Terps bested their scoring average versus South Alabama, they will likely need that number to keep trending up as the season goes along.

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