“I thought if we could outrebound them we would have a great chance of winning because they had really dominated the glass in their first three games and really hurt Memphis on second shots,” Willard mentioned. “The biggest thing for us was if we could get rebounds we could get out in transition. I think our transition offense is getting better.
“I thought we did a really good job on the boards.”
As a results of the Terps’ capacity to outrebound Saint Louis and kick their transition offense into gear, they scored 14 fast-break factors in contrast with six for the Billikens.
Senior ahead Donta Scott led a quintet of Terps in double figures with a game-high 25 factors. He was adopted by Donald Carey (16), Hakim Hart (16), Ian Martinez (14) and Jahmir Young (11). It was the primary time since Jan. 3 that 5 Maryland gamers scored in double digits in the identical recreation.
Javonte Perkins led Saint Louis with 17 factors whereas Yuri Collins added 12.
“Every day I put in the work, so eventually those shots will fall,” Scott mentioned of his stellar outing Saturday.
The Terps additionally shot a commendable 40.6 % (13 for 32) from past the arc. Coming into Saturday’s recreation Maryland was capturing 25.4 % on three-pointers.
“Coach Willard really emphasizes the inside-out threes,” Scott mentioned. “We penetrate into the paint and then kick it out to teammates. That’s a big part of our game.”
The recreation was tied at 2 lower than two minutes into the primary half. After that, the Terps took management and by no means relinquished it, main for the ultimate 38 minutes.
Maryland was forward 22-17 when it went on a 10-0 run sparked by 4 factors from Hart.
The Terps closed out the half with a 13-4 run powered largely by three-point pictures by Hart, Scott and Carey for a 51-27 lead.
Another purpose for the Terps’ 24-point halftime benefit was the very fact they held the Billikens to 25 % capturing (8 for 32) whereas Maryland shot 51.4 % (19 for 37).
The second half was a traditional model of rubbish time.
With Scott scoring seven factors within the first 4:33, the Terps constructed a 62-38 lead. Martinez scored 10 of his factors within the second half as Maryland’s lead ballooned to 32 factors.
“Everybody is ready to push us and make us better,” Scott mentioned. “We just have to show it, and now we’ve shown it.”
Willard, who’s in his first season because the Terps’ coach, seems to have Maryland heading in the right direction.
“This team’s been a blast to coach,” he mentioned. “Everyone of them has a little bit of a chip on their shoulder, from the transfers to the guys that stayed for me. I think everybody is really locked in. We’re working hard. It’s a great group. They’re unselfish. They’re great kids. What you see on the court is a result of their hard work.”
Willard is the primary Maryland males’s basketball coach to begin 4-0. Even Lefty Driesell and Gary Williams have been unable to get off to sooner begins. Driesell was 2-2 in his first season in College Park in 1969-70 and Williams was 3-1 to open the 1989-90 season.
Scott tied his profession excessive in factors and reached double figures for the forty eighth time in his profession.
Carey, a switch from Georgetown, joined him by notching double figures for the 69th time whereas Hart did so for the twenty eighth time.
Scott now has 986 profession factors and 519 rebounds. He is trying to turn into the seventeenth Terp since 1995 to achieve the 1,000-point plateau and 500-rebound milestone.