The Terps trailed 12-2 in the early goings but went on a 42-15 run over a 15 minute span to close the opening half with a 17-point lead as Maryland cruised to a 73-51 win at home over Nebraska. Junior big man Julian Reese led the way for the Terps with a game-high 15 points and a career-high tying 16 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. Freshman wing Jamie Kaiser Jr. came off the bench to score a career-high 14 points, going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Saturday's win lifted the Terps back to .500 in league play. They will travel to East Lansing next Saturday, Feb. 3 as they look to even the season series with the Michigan State Spartans.
Below are three takeaways from the win.
Bench guards erupt from beyond the arc
Maryland's offensive struggles this season are well documented. The Terps have been one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country this season while getting little bench production on offense.
Freshman wing Jamie Kaiser Jr. was a highly recruited four-star prospect brought in to help the Terps' three-point shooting, but coming into Saturday's game he was just 16-of-73 (22%) from beyond the arc and was scoreless over Maryland's last four games.
On Saturday Kaiser erupted from beyond the arc, going 4-for-5 from deep after starting the game a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the three-point line in the first half. The freshman looked confident with his stroke and as his shots continued to fall it seemed to give his teammates more and more confidence.
But Kaiser wasn't the only Terp to come off the bench and knock down threes, as senior guard Jahari Long also provided a huge spark off the bench, going a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc himself to start the opening half before finishing the half and the game 4-for-5 from deep. Long scored all 11 of his points in the first half and was one of four Terps in double-figure scoring.
Long and Kaiser's long distance shot making seemed contagious, as starters DeShawn Harris-Smith and Jordan Geronimo each knocked down a three, also. Those two came into Saturday's game having made just 13 threes between them all season long, shooting a combined 15% from beyond the arc.
While Maryland fans shouldn't expect the Terps to go 11-of-26 (42.3%) from beyond the arc too often, if they can just get some offensive production from the guards off the bench and make defenses guard them, it would open things up significantly for Jahmir Young and Julian Reese.
Terps turn steals into points
With the Terps taking and making a high number of threes, it allowed Maryland to set up some full-court pressure, which really seemed to bother the Huskers.
Nebraska turned the ball over 18 times with 11 of those turnovers coming off Maryland steals. The Terps took full advantage of the Huskers' sloppy play, scoring 25 points off of their turnovers.
Maryland dominates offensive glass
To say Maryland dominated inside Saturday versus the Huskers is almost an understatement.
The Terps finished with 17 offensive rebounds to just three offensive boards for the Huskers. At one point in the game, Maryland actually had more offensive rebounds than Nebraska did defensive rebounds.
While three of Reese's 16 rebounds were on the offensive end, Geronimo and Young each had five offensive boards.
The dominance on the offensive boards also helped lead to dominance scoring in the paint, as Maryland outscored Nebraska inside 30-12. The Terps also 18 second chance points to the Huskers' 5, again in large part thanks to their dominance on the offensive glass.
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