BIRMINGHAM, AL – Maryland’s men’s basketball season came to an end on Saturday as the Terrapins suffered a 73-51 defeat at the hands of overall No. 1 seed Alabama in the NCAA Tournament Second Round at Legacy Arena.
In his first year leading the Terps, head coach Kevin Willard led Maryland to a 22-13 record, compiling the first 20-win season by a Maryland coach in his first season and became the first head coach to lead a Terrapin team to the NCAA Tournament in his first season in College Park.
Maryland became just the second team in Big Ten history to go 10-0 at home in conference games.
Julian Reese scored 14 points and grabbed four rebounds while he was mired in early foul trouble before fouling out with 2:24 left in the game. Jahmir Young also scored in double-figures with 12 points.
The Terrapins led for much of the first half and their defense stifled the high-scoring Crimson Tide (82.6 ppg entering the game), limiting them to just 28 first-half points and 38.5 percent shooting from the floor in the first 20 minutes. Alabama committed 11 turnovers and shot 38.2 percent from the floor for the game.
Terps are grinding defensively
Alabama has 13 points in 11 minutes pic.twitter.com/qB6E7HgpFW
— Maryland Men’s Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) March 19, 2023
The Tide built a double-digit lead 8:30 into the second half, going up by as many as 20, but the Terps continued to battle and got back within 12 points in the late minutes
Jahvon Quinerly led the Tide with 22 points as Alabama (31-5) advances to play San Diego State in the Sweet 16. Brandon Miller scored 19 points as he shot just 5-of-17 from the floor as the Terps’ defense forced him into many difficult shots. Charles Bediako had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Breaking Down The Action
- Maryland raced out to a 9-2 lead as the Terps made their first four shots of the game as Reese connected on a pair of short jumpers in the paint and Carey nailed a three-pointer.
- The Terps were locked in defensively early holding Alabama to just 3-of-12 from the floor in the first eight minutes of play. The Tide was held scoreless for more than five minutes before a Bediako dunk tied the game at 12-12 with 9:25 left in the first half. Alabama didn’t take its…
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