Terps have a chance for the first statement win of the Kevin Willard era
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When Maryland visited Purdue in January, the matchup seemed uneven at the start. The Terrapins had wobbled through the early stretch of their conference slate under a new coach, while the Boilermakers were focused on the ultimate goal — a national title. Powered by national player of the year candidate Zach Edey, Purdue had lost just once — in a game decided by a three-pointer with 14 seconds to go.
After 40 minutes of play in West Lafayette, the Terps proved they were closer to No. 3 Purdue than it appeared. Maryland never led, but its defense stifled the Boilermakers down the stretch, and the Terps had multiple shots, including a three-point attempt at the buzzer, that could have tied the game. Maryland lost, 58-55, but showed potential, and since then, Coach Kevin Willard’s team has surged.
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The Terps (17-8, 8-6 Big Ten) have won five of their past six games, including a résumé-boosting victory over now-No. 14 Indiana. The Terps have another chance to knock off No. 3 Purdue, and this time they will try to do so at home, a place where they have thrived. For Willard, a win Thursday night would be a monumental achievement in his first season as Maryland’s coach, and it would significantly enhance the team’s stock as it nears Selection Sunday.
Willard and the players won’t let themselves see the matchup as more important than others still to come, but point guard Jahmir Young said: “We know how big it could be. We know what’s at stake.”
It has been years since Maryland produced a win of this magnitude. The Terps have an 11-game losing streak against opponents ranked in the top five of the Associated Press poll, with the most recent victory coming in January 2016 against then-No. 3 Iowa.
Mark Turgeon, the program’s coach from the 2011-12 season until December 2022, finished his tenure with a 5-15 record against top-five opponents. (Perhaps Turgeon’s best team, the 2019-20 group that won a share of the Big Ten regular season title, didn’t have any opportunities to face an opponent ranked that high.) Willard had a similar mark of 6-16 in such games during his 12 seasons at Seton Hall. All but one of those wins came on the road or at a neutral site.
Xfinity Center has been energized by the Terps’ recent rise and their success in that building even though Maryland has been unranked the past two months. The Terps are 7-0 at home in Big Ten play, and their lone loss at Xfinity Center came against now-No. 4 UCLA in December. After Willard was hired, he had lunch with Maryland alumnus and ESPN personality Scott Van Pelt, who told the new coach, “If you can get this building rocking, it’s something else.” Gradually, Willard’s team has played at a level that encourages fans to fill the arena, including a sellout crowd Saturday for a win over Penn State.
“You get a jolt of energy and don’t really feel as tired as I normally would on the road,” forward Patrick Emilien said. “You’re getting an adrenaline shot every time the crowd gets into it. It’s a lot easier to play at home.”
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Purdue, ranked third after rising to the top spot then falling this week, will arrive in College Park after losing two of its past three games. Both losses came on the road against Indiana and Northwestern, the two teams with the best conference record behind the Boilermakers. At Indiana, “that place was jumping,” Willard said of Assembly Hall. And the Wildcats, he said, “played as physical a basketball game as I’ve seen in a while against them.”
Despite having a roster with some holes after it was built quickly this past offseason, Willard’s team has fared well by leaning on its defense, and the Terps have shown an ability to rally. In the last meeting between the teams, Maryland held Purdue to a season-low 58 points and the Boilermakers had a field goal drought that spanned the final five minutes. The Terps, particularly because of sophomore forward Julian Reese, didn’t get bullied in the paint. Edey, the 7-foot-4 center, scored 24 points, but Reese countered with 19.
“I don’t think you can limit his impact on the game,” Willard said of Edey, who averages 22.2 points, 13 rebounds (including 5.5 on the offensive glass) and 2.3 blocks.
But Maryland proved last month it can compete with Edey and the talented players around him. That breeds confidence and a blueprint. The other times this season Willard’s team has played a Big Ten opponent twice — against Wisconsin and Michigan — the Terps won at home after dropping the first contest on the road.
Willard said that “this is the most relaxed I probably am all season long” and that the matchup with Purdue is simply “another conference game.” In terms of securing a spot in the NCAA tournament, he’s probably right. A victory Thursday would help improve Maryland’s seed, but it won’t determine whether it makes the field.
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“Although it’s only technically six games [remaining], it’s still a marathon,” Willard said. “You just can’t be so shortsighted and say: ‘One game is going to make it. One game is going to break it.’ Because it just doesn’t work that way.”
Barring a meltdown in the final six games of the regular season, the Terps will earn an NCAA tournament berth, regardless of the outcome against Purdue. Winning two more games should nearly guarantee a bid, and Maryland has matchups remaining against the bottom four teams in the league.
But a win over the Boilermakers would be Willard’s first major breakthrough as the Terrapins’ coach and could be the first tangible piece of evidence that his Maryland team can consistently compete with the best. It could create an electric atmosphere in College Park, and a positive outcome would forge a memory that makes fans want to come back. So even if the coach’s brain, wired to view all opponents the same, won’t let him see the game as such, this is Willard’s biggest opportunity yet.