The Terps started out slow, but dominated down the stretch on both ends of the court.
Maryland men’s basketball reached the 10-win mark Saturday, dominating ex-ACC foe Syracuse en route to an 87-60 victory at Barclays Center in the Gotham Classic.
Selton Miguel led the way with 24 points while Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice and Derik Queen all finished in double figures. The Terps will finish their nonconference slate 2-0 away from Xfinity Center.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
Defense was stifling
The Orange have faced plenty of tough competition this season. They’ve already got matchups with No. 1 Tennessee, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Texas and Texas Tech under their belt.
But the Terps’ defensive domination topped all of those teams. They held Syracuse to a season-low 60 points, and a 27-point margin of victory was the highest against the Orange all season.
“We got our butts kicked. It was embarrassing,” Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry said. “This is the worst [loss of my time as head coach] … I thought we were ready to at least play and compete, and we didn’t.”
It was yet another strong showing for a unit that entered Saturday ranked No. 12 in defensive KenPom rating.
Maryland’s offense started out stagnant, making just four of its first 17 attempts. But it still led by six at that point due Syracuse starting out 6-of-21 from the field in the opening 15 minutes, with the Terps taking it away six times in that stretch.
Maryland forced Syracuse into time-consuming possessions repeatedly. And when the possession ended quickly, it was often due to the Terps taking the ball away. They finished the game with 15 steals — their second highest total of the season — and Syracuse finished with 21 total turnovers, eight more than it has in any game this year. Maryland scored 25 points off those extra opportunities.
“I wanted to make sure we didn’t come out passive,” head coach Kevin Willard said. “I wanted to come out and make sure we got after them. And sometimes our pressure is not about turnovers, sometimes it’s just about making teams work.”
The Terps had a size advantage over the Orange and it showed in the paint. Syracuse scored just 26 paint points compared to Maryland’s 42 while Queen, Julian Reese and Tafara Gapare all recorded blocks. Queen and Reese had no trouble boxing out on the boards, combining for 21 rebounds.
Another Selton Miguel masterclass
The 2023-24 AAC sixth man of the year has turned into a force on the offensive end for Maryland. He recorded 24 points, his second straight game with more than 20.
Miguel came out firing from the opening tip-off, scoring Maryland’s first five points and taking two 3-point attempts in the opening two minutes. His fearlessness shooting the ball didn’t stop there, as he took five of the Terps’ first eight 3-point tries, making three.
The fifth year’s shooting opportunties came in a variety of manners. Miguel isn’t the shiftiest guard, especially compared to Gillespie and Rice, but his short-area movement is efficient and effective creating space beyond the arc. He was just as efficient in catch-and-shoot situations.
Nine of Miguel’s 11 shots came from 3-point range, and he was 6-of-9 on those tries. He had just two fewer 3-point makes than the entire Syracuse team combined.
Miguel has recorded double digits in each of his last seven contests, the second longest streak on the team behind Derik Queen. That level of consistency — especially with Gillespie and Rice having shown the ability to take over a game — is a crucial asset for Maryland entering Big Ten play.
Offensive playmaking
Maryland recorded a season-high 26 assists against the Orange. It repeatedly got open looks by driving inside, catching Syracuse’s defense out of position and kicking out. 11 of the Terps’ 12 3-point makes were assisted.
That performance was led by a sensational effort at the point by Gillespie. He finished with a career-high 11 assists to go along with 17 points, his first double-double in three seasons of collegiate basketball.
“He’s really starting to figure out he’s out there with Rodney and Selton,” Willard said. “If you get a lane and you find one of those two guys, more likely you’re getting an assist … you’re starting to see the evolution of a point guard, where he’s really understanding who to get the ball [and] when to get the ball.”
Gillespie took advantage of preexisting open looks, but used his craftiness to create them as well. No period exemplified that better than a two-possession stretch late in the first half. On the first one, Gillespie drove inside and dished a no-look pass to a wide-open Reese in the dunker spot, but Reese couldn’t corral the pass and turned the ball over. On the second, Gillespie once again started to drive before flipping the ball behind his back to Miguel, who drained a long 3-pointer.
Look up smooth in the dictionary and you’ll see ja’kobi gillespie. pic.twitter.com/ui6vyU0DJt
— Rudy Gersten (@DCBarno) December 21, 2024
Reese was second on the team with five assists. Rice and Queen finished with three each.
Maryland’s offense has ran through all five starters at times this season. Its ability to find the open shot, no matter who’s taking it, makes it a hard team to prepare for with the bulk of its conference slate just around the corner.