If there were two things the Maryland Terps packed when they left Orlando, it was the title and their defense. The was evident in their 72-51 win over Notre Dame. The Terps defense would give Notre Dame’s high powered offense fits all night.
The Irish offense is one of the best at using spacing. With dynamic point guard, TJ Gibbs running the show, there are usually lanes for him to drive because of the Irish perimeter shooters. But, the Terps defense were having none of Gibbs penetration. Not only were they be able to stay in front of the dangerous guard but they harassed Gibbs into missing all six of his shot attempts in the first half. Gibbs missed all 11 field goal attempts.
Notre Dame would shoot 29% from the floor for the game.
On Saturday Maryland heads into conference play as they host Illinois. the Illini are led by 7-foot Kofi Cockburn (Oak Hill Academy). Cockburn is averaging 16.3 and 11 rebounds a game.
The Illini’s inside presence presents a different challenge for the Terps defense than Notre Dame. Whereas the Irish wanted penetration and kick opportunities, Illinois will want to get the ball inside as much as possible. They will try to draw Maryland’s defense out using two very good three point shooters in Trent Frazier and Alan Griffin. Those two, along with second leading scorer, Ayo Dosunmu will present a challenge to the Terps defense on the perimeter.
Notes:
- In Illinois’ two losses (Arizona and Miami-FL), offense hasn’t been the issue. In both games, the Illini shot over 47% from the floor. They’ve struggled stopping their opponent. Arizona shot allmost 56% from the field while Miami-FL shot 59%.
- Terps 9-0 start is their best since 1998-99
- Terps lead the Big Ten in turnover ratio (+3.4)
