Maryland constructed leads and maintained them. The Terps showcased their stingy protection and efficient press towards the No. 21 Hoosiers. They took care of the ball and regarded like a bunch that’s enhancing as the season goes on. But they did all of it at Xfinity Center, the place the Terps have largely prevented letdowns. Now Maryland returns to the road, and it’s nonetheless seeking its first Big Ten victory away from College Park.
Willard’s staff has its greatest likelihood but to discover one. The Terps (15-7, 6-5) go to Minnesota on Saturday night time, and the Gophers (7-14, 1-10) are in final place in the convention. A win would give Maryland a four-game profitable streak forward of Tuesday’s take a look at at Michigan State (14-8, 6-5).
During their just-completed homestand, the Terps proved they’ve the potential to maintain climbing the Big Ten standings, however in road video games — at Wisconsin, Michigan, Rutgers, Iowa and Purdue — they haven’t had the identical success. And if that bother persists, even towards lesser opponents, it should maintain again the Terps.
“We’ve got to figure out how to win on the road,” Willard stated. “We’ve got to do it.”
Willard leans on a well-recognized chorus — “It’s really hard to win on the road,” he stated — however his staff’s 0-5 convention document away from Xfinity Center is especially stark in contrast with its 6-0 home mark. On the road in convention play, Maryland has shot 37.6 p.c from the subject (in contrast with 44.3 p.c at home) and 28.7 p.c from three-point vary (32.7 p.c at home). The Terps have averaged 13.6 turnovers in away video games whereas committing simply 8.7 at home.
Those disparities are amplified by Maryland’s abysmal New Year’s Day efficiency at Michigan, an 81-46 loss by which Willard stated he “kind of waved the [white] flag early” and gave minutes to bench gamers with out a win in sight throughout the second half. (The Terps beat Michigan 18 days later when the Wolverines traveled to College Park.) But even in different road outings, the Terps haven’t reproduced a few of the constructive moments they’ve had at home.
Maryland has gotten off to dreadful begins on the road. The Terps have made simply 18 of 72 (25.0 p.c) subject aim makes an attempt in the first 10 minutes of convention road video games — in contrast with 54.8 p.c (46 for 84) throughout the identical stretch at home.
That early bother has pushed Maryland into first-half deficits as giant as 12 factors at Wisconsin, 31 at Michigan, 11 at Rutgers, 16 at Iowa and 16 at Purdue. Willard lately stated his gamers, a lot of whom are new to the Big Ten, have “really struggled with nerves at the start of games” on the road.
A key distinction at home, gamers stated, is the ease of producing power from the opening tip. On the road, that early depth has been lacking.
“At home, it’s easy to do because the fans are here, and they’re able to get us through it at the beginning,” stated Patrick Emilien, a reserve ahead. “Just kind of creating that energy ourselves — I’ve been trying to do that starting on the bench, being an energy plug for the starting five, because it’s not easy to just come out and start competing right out the jump.”
The Terps have clawed again into a few of their road video games, with their most up-to-date journey — a 58-55 loss at now-No. 1 Purdue — the most encouraging due to how effectively they performed towards a top-tier staff.
“We’ve played good spurts,” Willard stated. “We have to be able to put 40 minutes together on the road.”
The Terps have maintained their spot in NCAA event projections due to how they’ve excelled at home. They’re 12-1 at Xfinity Center, with their solely loss coming to now-No. 9 UCLA. Maryland performed only one nonconference road recreation; it routed Louisville, certainly one of the worst Power Five applications in the nation, in late November.
But this weekend, the Terps have the proper substances for a breakthrough: a profitable streak, a confidence-boosting victory over a ranked staff and a floundering opponent. Maryland simply wants to seize items of its current outings at home and carry them onto the road.
“We’ve got to bring our defensive intensity,” Willard stated. “It’s got to travel with us. I don’t think it has. That’s the thing we’ve got to build on.”