No. 8-seed Maryland men’s basketball survives No. 9-seed West Virginia, 67-65, advances to round of 32
Kevin Willard won his first NCAA Tournament game as Maryland’s coach.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — It started and ended with Jahmir Young free throws.
Maryland hadn’t scored in seven minutes and 39 seconds. It trailed by 12 in the first half when Jahmir Young forced his way to the rim and earned himself a pair of shots from the line. He drained both, spurring a gutsy comeback.
With just 4.7 seconds left to play, Young was fouled once more, this time with his team leading and a chance to extend its lead to three. The first one — swish. The second — no such luck.
West Virginia grabbed the rebound and raced down the court. A two would tie it and a three would win it.
The ball went into the blazing-hot hands of Kedrian Johnson. The fifth-year guard snatched the ball, took two steps beyond half-court and let it fly for the win. It hung in the air for an eternity, sailing toward the hoop with the potential to both move the Mountaineers on and send the Terps home packing.
Johnson had already scored 17 points in the second half. He was the guy West Virginia wanted the ball in the hands of. But his shot was short. Maryland survived and advanced, the mantra of the NCAA Tournament.
Eighth-seeded Maryland defeated ninth-seeded West Virginia, 67-65, on Thursday, moving on to the NCAA Tournament’s round of 32.
Playing in the first game of the first round of the NCAA Tournament is a privilege and a curse. Television sets around the nation all simultaneously tune into the same game, ready to kick off one of the most action-packed days of the American sports calendar.
Before nine minutes had elapsed, they were tuned out. It was ugly.
In its first eight possessions, Maryland had turned the ball over five times. It trailed 16-4 and hadn’t made a shot in what felt like forever — the field-goal drought lasted eight minutes and 28 seconds, to be exact. West Virginia had scored the last 14 points.
Because of the turnovers, Maryland couldn’t get shots up, let alone score. When Julian Reese hit a floater to end the field-goal-less period, it was the Terps’ eighth shot of the first half. West Virginia had taken 16.
With made shots comes the ability to press, and with that comes disruption. Maryland kicked its full-court pressure into gear once the shots starting falling and a game that was teetering on the edge of running away became a whole lot more interesting.
A switch flipped. Maryland exploded on a 16-2 run. It drained five of six shots, capped off by a Jahmir Young three that thrust the Terps into the lead with just over six minutes left in the half.
From there, the first half went back and forth. When the buzzer sounded, Maryland somehow, someway led 32-30.
When the second half started, West Virginia again came out hot, much hotter than the Terps.
There’s a popular expression among college basketball fans that guards win in March. It’s even better to have experienced guards. On Thursday, West Virginia had the best of both worlds with Johnson.
He bullied his way to the rim and converted on a layup while being fouled. The next possession — same thing. Next time up the court it was a four-point play after draining a three with contact. Johnson went on a 10-0 run all by himself to spark the Mountaineers and balloon their lead to as much as nine.
But the Terps refused to quit once more, forcing themselves back on top despite missing Young, who sat on the bench after picking up his fourth foul of the game for an extended period. When West Virginia forward Jimmy Bell Jr. fouled out of the game, Maryland made a concerted effort to feed the ball down low.
Because of West Virginia’s lack of interior presence, Reese began to take the game over. He totaled a team-high 13 points in the latter 20 minutes of the game, also grabbing seven boards in the period. He finished the game leading the Terps in both categories: 17 points and nine rebounds.
Foul trouble plagued both teams Thursday, and the calls piled up in the second half. They were both in the bonus just over midway through the period, and a grand total of 38 free throws were shot in the game.
Four Terps finished with at least 10 points: Reese, Young (10) and the senior tandem of Donta Scott and Hakim Hart, who both provided valuable minutes and made clutch plays down the stretch to help lift their team to victory in a do-or-die situation.
Three things to know
1. No Young, no problem. Jahmir Young severely struggled to create his usual separation against West Virginia’s physical guards. He made just one field goal, scoring seven of his 10 points at the free-throw line. He also had to sit on the bench for a while when he picked up his fourth foul, with head coach Kevin Willard opting to put Jahari Long in the game instead.
2. The little things. As is the case in close games, hustle plays were the difference down the stretch. The Terps battled for 50/50 balls in the waning minutes of the game, most notably a big rebound by Scott after his own shot was off the mark with under 40 seconds on the clock.
3. What’s next? Maryland will face the winner of the game between No. 1-seed Alabama and No. 16-seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. The Crimson Tide are one of the favorites to win the national title, so Willard and his staff will get to work scouting the tournament’s top overall seed to try and pull off the massive upset.
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