20 Maryland Terrapins

Dec 14, 2022

Tyger Campbell is going to need to have a reversion to last year’s form for the Bruins to get the win. (Photo credit: Scott Chandler/uclabruins.com)

Well, if you were looking for big basketball games, you’ve come to the right place.

UCLA is entering what might prove to be the toughest week of games this season. Two games on the road, one a true road game and the other a neutral-site game. Both games are against ranked teams, and both games will provide UCLA an opportunity to gain a big non-conference win on the resume.

We start this trip today with a future conference foe in the Maryland Terrapins. Maryland is starting the season off strong under new coach Kevin Willard. Willard spent the past twelve seasons as head coach at Seton Hall, so he definitely knows what he’s doing from a coaching perspective, and already has Maryland playing strong basketball. The Terrapins knocked off the same Illinois team that beat UCLA earlier this month but have stumbled a bit of late, losing on the road at Wisconsin and a neutral site game to Tennessee where the Volunteers tried their best to blow a 17-point halftime lead.

The Maryland lineup is pretty consistent. All 10 games have featured the same five starters, and only three bench players have played more than 60 minutes this season, indicating a relatively short bench compared to what UCLA has trotted out this year. The Terps are led by the tandem of Jahmir Young and Donta Scott. Young is a transfer from Charlotte and leads the team in both points (156) and shot attempts (128). He’s ostensibly the point guard but plays more like a lead guard - his 34 assists would place him barely above Amari Bailey at UCLA, and 14 behind Tyger Campbell. Scott is not far behind Young as far as points (141) and shot attempts (120), but he has been Maryland’s workhorse as far as playing time and I imagine most Maryland observers would say that he has been their best player.

Outside of those two, the Bruins will need to contain Hakim Hart. Hart has been the only consistent outside shooter for Maryland this year - among players with at least 10 three-point attempts, Hart is the only one shooting above 40% on the season (43.2%). The fourth major scorer is post player Julian Reese, who is hitting an absurd 75% of his shots from the field this year. Reese will represent an interesting challenge for UCLA’s bigs, as he’s a solid rebounder who plays good defense. That said, he’s the most foul-prone player in the rotation, and UCLA might want to focus on getting him in foul trouble. The last player in the starting lineup is Donald Carey, who has been the team’s leader despite the poor shooting. Carey will make his living on the defensive end.

The Maryland bench has some intriguing options. Jahari Long is another deep-shooting threat for the Terps, though he has only taken eight attempts on the season. Ian Martinez is a transfer from Utah, giving Maryland one player that the Bruins will have some familiarity. Patrick Emilien is a solid rebounder but has struggled from the field. No other bench piece has played anything outside of spot minutes.

For UCLA to win this game, they’re really going to have to take advantage of any minutes where any of the bench pieces are on the floor. Maryland’s starting unit has been exceptional but the bench players have been merely passable, and the only teams that were able to take advantage of that drop-off in play also happen to be the two teams that beat the Terrapins in the past few weeks. In addition, they’ll need to run the offense as efficiently as possible, as Maryland’s aggressive defense has struggled against offenses that move the ball quickly.

If there is one benefit as well, this appears to be a game where UCLA’s usually-leaky perimeter defense might not be a major problem. Maryland does shoot a good amount of three-pointers but outside of Donta Scott, they are not very good at making those shots. Maryland lacks a true point guard, so this will be a game where UCLA’s defense should look to establish itself and get in passing lanes.

This is your UCLA men’s basketball at Maryland game thread. Here’s how to watch tonight’s game.

#14 UCLA Men’s Basketball (8-2)

Opponent: #17 Maryland Terrapins (8-2)
Series Record: UCLA leads, 6-2
When: 6:07 pm PT, Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Where: XFINITY Center, College Park, MD
TV: FS1 with Jason Benetti and Bill Raftery
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports app
on
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM Ch. 83
Local Radio: AM 1150 with Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray
Online: uclabruins.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Maryland

Go Bruins!!!

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