Terps continue domination at home, blast lowly Gophers

Maryland guard Jahmir Young, right, drives to the basket against Minnesota guard Braeden Carrington during the second half of Wednesday night’s game in College Park. Julio Cortez/AP

COLLEGE PARK — Maryland men’s basketball forward Donta Scott leaped for a pass and, as a Minnesota defender fouled him and gravity pulled him down, flipped the ball into the net for an alley-oop layup. In sync, the jubilant crowd at Xfinity Center leaped to its feet.

The Terps had jumped out to a double-digit first-half lead and were on their way to what College Park has grown so accustomed to this season — a Maryland win.

Scott’s and-one finish came in the midst of a decisive 15-0 run midway through the first half as the Terps turned a back-and-forth contest into a one-sided affair. Maryland, which beat Minnesota by 35 earlier this month, took a 21-point first-half lead en route to an 88-70 victory to improve to 19-9 overall and 10-7 in the Big Ten.

The Terps are on pace, per several projections, to be a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament bracket, which will be announced in just over two weeks.Last year, Maryland suffered its first losing season in nearly three decades and missed the tournament field. But this season, new coach Kevin Willard and the Terps have returned to their winning ways, thanks in large part to their dominance at home.

While college basketball teams generally win two-thirds of their home games and lose one-third on the road, the Terps are now 15-1 at home this year, but just 2-7 on the road.

Last week, Maryland knocked off then-No. 3 Purdue at home, 68-54, prompting fans to storm the court in College Park. But the schedule beckoned for another road game, and the Terps lost Sunday in overtime at middling Nebraska, 70-66.

In that game, Scott shot just 2-for-16 from the field. But he was outstanding Wednesday, scoring 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting as one of five Terps to finish in double figures. Julian Reese (St. Frances) led the team with 21 points and 12 rebounds while Hakim Hart contributed 20 points, six assists and four steals. Jahmir Young and Don Carey added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Pharrel Payne, a freshman, led Minnesota (7-19, 1-15 Big Ten) with 17 points.

The game’s opening 10 minutes were back-and-forth as Minnesota, which has now lost 11 straight games, kept pace. But thanks to an extraordinary shooting half by the Terps — who made 73.1% of their shots, their best percentage in a half since 2020 — Maryland opened up a sizable lead it never relinquished.