In College Park, Maryland, Julian Reese scored 19 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in his last home game as No. 13 Maryland secured a 74-61 win against Northwestern on Saturday.
The Terrapins (24-7, 14-6 Big Ten) managed a sluggish offensive effort but still achieved a significant win, marking their seventh victory in the past eight games. The only glitch in this streak was a buzzer-beater loss to Michigan State.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie contributed 17 points to Maryland’s triumph, while Derik Queen had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
This victory ended Maryland’s three-game losing streak against Northwestern, which included a bitter overtime loss to the Wildcats earlier in January.
Nick Martinell stood out for Northwestern (16-15, 7-13), scoring 28 points. Despite the loss, the Wildcats remain in contention to participate in the Big Ten Tournament.
Northwestern held their own during much of the first half and had a brief 42-41 lead in the second half before Maryland took control.
Takeaways showed that although Northwestern played hard against Maryland throughout this season, they fell short due to insufficient scoring power, hitting just 4 of 19 from 3-point range.
Maryland’s performance has notably improved since their earlier loss to Northwestern this season, going 11-2 since then.
A crucial moment in the game was a 14-4 Maryland run featuring 3-pointers from Gillespie and Rodney Rice, which built a 55-46 lead that the Terrapins maintained until the final whistle.
In terms of key statistics, Maryland dominated with 16 offensive rebounds, overshadowing Northwestern’s 17 defensive boards. This allowed the Terrapins a significant 14-4 advantage in second-chance points.
Looking ahead, Maryland is positioned to be either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the forthcoming Big Ten Tournament, with the top 15 teams qualifying. Northwestern is amongst the five teams battling for the last spots, while Iowa trails by one game.
