When Maryland men’s basketball lost to Villanova, 57-40, in November 2023, Eric Dixon mixed seven points and eight rebounds with four turnovers against the Terps.

At Sunday afternoon’s Saatva Empire Classic in Newark, New Jersey, Dixon was a much different player for the Wildcats. The 6-foot-8, 265-pound power forward poured in a game- and career-high 38 points on 15 of 29 shooting, including 5 of 11 behind the 3-point line.

Fortunately for Maryland (5-1), it got double-digit outings from four players to offset Dixon’s explosion and pull out a 76-75 victory over Villanova (3-4). Still, Dixon’s performance caught Terps coach Kevin Willard’s attention.

“He’s a tough matchup,” he said of Dixon, who has scored at least 20 points in each of his six starts this season. “He’s really evolved his game. He made his first couple and just got going. He banked one in. In the second half, I thought we did a much better job of making him work. We just didn’t come out and play physical enough with him from the start. But you’ve also got to give him a lot of credit. He made a lot of tough shots and played really well. That’s what good players do.”

Here are three observations from Sunday’s win:

Freshman Derik Queen is playing like a seasoned veteran

When Queen, the heralded 6-10, 246-pound center from Baltimore, was awarded two free throws to put Maryland ahead with 19 seconds left in regulation, he refused to let the pressure of the moment fluster him.

“I just looked at it like it was 13 minutes in the second half,” he said. “Just make two free throws. They were free, and I don’t like to miss out on free points.”

Just six games into his college debut, Queen is already demonstrating why he was a five-star prospect coming out of high school. He scored 18 of his team-high 22 points in the second half on 7 of 10 shooting and has been the high scorer in three games thus far.

With 11 rebounds, Queen led the Terps in that department for the second time. Senior power forward Julian Reese has been the top rebounder in the other four games.

Queen appears to be scratching the surface of his potential. In the first half against Villanova, he had as many turnovers (four) as points and airballed an ill-advised 3-pointer. Willard said the difference in Queen in the second half was a realization that he was underperforming.

“To be honest with you, he’s such a talented player, the game comes easy to him,” he said. “But I would say he was a little bit too lackadaisical and a little too cool in the first half, and I think he got a little pissed off in the second half. I think when he plays that way, he’s as good as anybody there is.

“But when he comes out and plays lackadaisical, that’s what happens. We didn’t really change anything. We kept running the same plays. When he’s angry and he’s mad and he plays that way, he’s a dominant player.”

In a pinch, Maryland turned to its bread-and-butter tactic: defense

Villanova scored 40 points in the first half and 35 in the second. That might not seem like much of a difference, but it was.

The Wildcats labored for those 35 points. After converting 50% (15 of 30) of their shots in the opening frame, they slipped to 43.8% (14 of 32) in the second half. That included regressing from 40% (6 of 15) from 3-point range to 21.4% (3 of 14).

Willard credited the Terps’ perimeter defense with making life difficult for Villanova’s sharpshooters.

“In the second half, I thought we did a good job of making them just rush on their 3-point shots,” he said. “Everything was kind of rushed, everything was just a little bit not in rhythm. When you can get a team that’s used to being in rhythm not in rhythm, that means you’re playing good defense.”

Another factor was Maryland’s full- and half-court press packages that forced the Wildcats to work to cross midcourt without incurring a 10-second violation. And once they did, the Terps settled into the type of sticky defense they’ve been known for during Willard’s tenure (fourth in the Big Ten in 2022-23 and first in 2023-24).

“I thought the top of the press did a really good job,” he said. “We were able to score, and when we can score consecutive possessions, our defense is really good. In the first half, we struggled to score, turned it over nine times. That’s not where our defense is built, and that’s where we struggled.”

Julian Reese and Rodney Rice bailed out the offense in the first half

As thrilling as the second-half showings by Queen and junior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie (10 of 12 points) were, Maryland might not have been able to mount such a comeback if not for the early play of Reese and Rice.

Reese scored 11 of his 18 points in the first half on 5 of 8 shooting. Rice dropped nine of his 16 points in the first 20 minutes and was the only player to make a 3-pointer.

Reese, the 6-9, 252-pound power forward who grew up in Randallstown and graduated from St. Frances, said he needed “to step up to the plate.”

“We were kind of lackadaisical, like Coach said,” he added. “Just bringing my energy and being there and holding us and keeping us in the game until guys get comfortable and whatnot. I feel like I did a good job of that, and going into the second half, I did the same thing.”

In the second half, Reese corralled six rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. The Terps grabbed 10 offensive rebounds, which they turned into 16 second-chance points, and Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said his team’s inability to outbattle Maryland on the boards proved crucial.

“I really think in the second half, it was just the little things — stops and being able to rebound,” he said. “I thought they got way too many second-chance opportunities, especially early in the second half. That kind of gave them some life, and we just didn’t get it done defensively.”

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.