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SAN FRANCISCO — Maryland men’s basketball’s run in the NCAA Tournament stopped short of the ultimate finish line.
A promising season that included more highs than lows and had fans dreaming of a coveted national title ended Thursday night as the No. 4 seed Terps succumbed to top-seeded Florida, 87-71, in a Sweet 16 matchup of the West Region at Chase Center.
Maryland stayed competitive with the Gators for much of the first half and trailed, 40-38, at halftime. But the Gators opened the second half by scoring 12 of the period’s first 16 points and eventually opened up an 18-point advantage midway through the period to put the game out of reach.
Making their first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2016, the Terps (27-9) absorbed their third consecutive setback in this stage of the tournament. They were denied their first berth in the Elite Eight since 2002, when that squad captured the school’s first and only national championship.
Maryland had won the previous two meetings with Florida but dropped to 2-3 in the all-time series. Thursday’s game was the first in the postseason between the two programs.
Freshman center Derik Queen led the Terps by scoring a game-high 27 points and adding five rebounds and two steals, and junior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie compiled 17 points and two steals before fouling out with 2:54 left in the game. Senior power forward Julian Reese accumulated 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, and sophomore shooting guard Rodney Rice chipped in 12 points, four rebounds and two assists.
But Maryland — which got a rare zero-point effort on seven shots from graduate student small forward Selton Miguel, who last finished a game with zero points on Nov. 24 against Villanova — labored against a Gators opponent that prides itself on using its athleticism and length to feed an offense that entered the game ranked second in the nation in fastbreak points per game (16.5) and third in points per game (85.4). The Gators outrebounded the Terps, 42-20, owned a 21-9 advantage in second-chance points and got 29 points from their bench while Maryland’s reserves produced just three points as Florida put up a season high in points against the Terps.
Six players for Florida (33-4) finished in double figures. Senior shooting guard Will Richard racked up 15 points, four rebounds and three steals, graduate student shooting guard Alijah Martin amassed 14 points and seven rebounds, and All-American first-team point guard and senior Walter Clayton Jr. had 13 points and four assists.
The Gators collected their ninth straight victory and improved to 10-1 in the Sweet 16. They will meet either No. 3 seed Texas Tech (27-8) or No. 10 seed Arkansas (22-13) in the West Region final on Saturday at a time to be announced.
Florida persevered despite losing starting sophomore power forward Alex Condon, who limped off the floor without putting any weight on his right ankle with 12:16 left in the first half. Condon, who entered the game averaging 11.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists, returned briefly in the second half and finished with four points and two rebounds.
March Madness: Maryland men’s basketball vs. Florida in Sweet 16 | PHOTOS
The Gators also overcame turning over the ball 17 times, including 13 in the first half. They entered the game with just 10.7 giveaways per game.
After losing eight games by a combined 28 points, the Terps could not keep pace with Florida, who won their 26th game this season by double digits.
The setback essentially puts an end to the “Crab Five” starting group that spawned T-shirts and became popular on social media. Reese, a Randallstown native and St. Frances graduate, and graduate student small forward Selton Miguel have exhausted their eligibility, and Queen, a Baltimore resident, is expected to enter the upcoming NBA draft where he is projected as a mid-first round pick.
After Maryland opened the scoring with a fastbreak layup by Gillespie just 23 seconds into the game, Florida seized control, eventually racing to a 20-9 advantage that included 11 straight points in a 3:30 stretch.
The Terps countered with a 21-7 run in a 5:27 span. Four straight free throws by Queen gave them a 28-27 lead — their first since that 2-0 opening — and two more lifted them to a 30-27 difference that would be their largest of the opening frame.
The Gators responded with six consecutive points before Maryland embarked on a 6-2 burst for a 36-35 lead. Florida got a 3-pointer from Martin and a layup from Richard to retake the advantage at 40-35 before Rice nailed a jumper with 32 seconds left for the halftime score.
This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.
Continue reading...
A promising season that included more highs than lows and had fans dreaming of a coveted national title ended Thursday night as the No. 4 seed Terps succumbed to top-seeded Florida, 87-71, in a Sweet 16 matchup of the West Region at Chase Center.
Maryland stayed competitive with the Gators for much of the first half and trailed, 40-38, at halftime. But the Gators opened the second half by scoring 12 of the period’s first 16 points and eventually opened up an 18-point advantage midway through the period to put the game out of reach.
Making their first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2016, the Terps (27-9) absorbed their third consecutive setback in this stage of the tournament. They were denied their first berth in the Elite Eight since 2002, when that squad captured the school’s first and only national championship.
Maryland had won the previous two meetings with Florida but dropped to 2-3 in the all-time series. Thursday’s game was the first in the postseason between the two programs.
Freshman center Derik Queen led the Terps by scoring a game-high 27 points and adding five rebounds and two steals, and junior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie compiled 17 points and two steals before fouling out with 2:54 left in the game. Senior power forward Julian Reese accumulated 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, and sophomore shooting guard Rodney Rice chipped in 12 points, four rebounds and two assists.
But Maryland — which got a rare zero-point effort on seven shots from graduate student small forward Selton Miguel, who last finished a game with zero points on Nov. 24 against Villanova — labored against a Gators opponent that prides itself on using its athleticism and length to feed an offense that entered the game ranked second in the nation in fastbreak points per game (16.5) and third in points per game (85.4). The Gators outrebounded the Terps, 42-20, owned a 21-9 advantage in second-chance points and got 29 points from their bench while Maryland’s reserves produced just three points as Florida put up a season high in points against the Terps.
Six players for Florida (33-4) finished in double figures. Senior shooting guard Will Richard racked up 15 points, four rebounds and three steals, graduate student shooting guard Alijah Martin amassed 14 points and seven rebounds, and All-American first-team point guard and senior Walter Clayton Jr. had 13 points and four assists.
The Gators collected their ninth straight victory and improved to 10-1 in the Sweet 16. They will meet either No. 3 seed Texas Tech (27-8) or No. 10 seed Arkansas (22-13) in the West Region final on Saturday at a time to be announced.
Florida persevered despite losing starting sophomore power forward Alex Condon, who limped off the floor without putting any weight on his right ankle with 12:16 left in the first half. Condon, who entered the game averaging 11.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists, returned briefly in the second half and finished with four points and two rebounds.
March Madness: Maryland men’s basketball vs. Florida in Sweet 16 | PHOTOS
The Gators also overcame turning over the ball 17 times, including 13 in the first half. They entered the game with just 10.7 giveaways per game.
After losing eight games by a combined 28 points, the Terps could not keep pace with Florida, who won their 26th game this season by double digits.
The setback essentially puts an end to the “Crab Five” starting group that spawned T-shirts and became popular on social media. Reese, a Randallstown native and St. Frances graduate, and graduate student small forward Selton Miguel have exhausted their eligibility, and Queen, a Baltimore resident, is expected to enter the upcoming NBA draft where he is projected as a mid-first round pick.
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After Maryland opened the scoring with a fastbreak layup by Gillespie just 23 seconds into the game, Florida seized control, eventually racing to a 20-9 advantage that included 11 straight points in a 3:30 stretch.
The Terps countered with a 21-7 run in a 5:27 span. Four straight free throws by Queen gave them a 28-27 lead — their first since that 2-0 opening — and two more lifted them to a 30-27 difference that would be their largest of the opening frame.
The Gators responded with six consecutive points before Maryland embarked on a 6-2 burst for a 36-35 lead. Florida got a 3-pointer from Martin and a layup from Richard to retake the advantage at 40-35 before Rice nailed a jumper with 32 seconds left for the halftime score.
This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.
Continue reading...
