Maryland Basketball: Frontcourt excels against Wisconsin
By Chris Bengel
The Maryland men’s basketball team gained an important win on Saturday.
In doing so, the Terrapins’ frontcourt really excelled against Wisconsin.
Maryland is traditionally is a team that is led by their prolific backcourt of Melo Trimble and Rasheed Sulaimon. Saturday was no different as Trimble connected on the game-winning three-pointer with just 1.2 seconds left.
However, the frontcourt really excelled against Wisconsin as well.
The Terps’ frontcourt got to work soon after the opening tip. Frontcourt players scored nine of Maryland’s first 11 points with four different scorers contributing.
Maryland came out very aggressive on their first offensive possession. The Terps went right inside to forward Robert Carter, who missed his first shot attempt. However, center Damonte Dodd was able to go back up strong and draw the foul.
Dodd was one of the most impressive Terps as he netted nine points and grabbed six rebounds in just 17 minutes. It was arguably Dodd’s best game of the season.
The Eastern Shore native only scored eight or more points in two other games this season before Saturday. He also had only grabbed six rebounds in one other game during the 2015-16 season.
Maryland out-rebounded Wisconsin 34-32, but certainly got everything they could handle from the Badgers on the interior. While Wisconsin was able to make their way into the lane quite a bit, the Terps certainly were up to the task defensively.
Maryland recorded six blocks throughout the games with Carter swatting away four shots and forward Jake Layman turning away two. This is a team that does average 5.3 blocks-per-game, which is fifth in the Big Ten.
From an offensive standpoint, Maryland’s frontcourt was very efficient from the field.
Terp forwards made 56 percent (14-of-25) of their shots, including a Carter three in the second half. This was also without forward Michal Cekovsky even registering a field goal attempt.
Carter brought a very balanced scoring punch to the floor. The Georgia Tech transfer scored 14 points (5-of-11) and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Terps.
Carter also showed perseverance at multiple times against the Badgers. For example, with 15:52 remaining in the first half, Carter missed a shot under the rim, got the ball back and had his second attempt denied, and still managed to score on a loose ball where Sulaimon found him slashing towards the basket for the layup. The junior forward made the extremely tough shot, and earned himself a three-point play as he was fouled.
Carter also showed his ability to hit the jump shot, which is one of the key attributes to his game.
Center Diamond Stone was also very efficient for the Terps.
In his return to his home state, Stone hit four of his five field goal attempts to give him 11 points and four rebounds on the afternoon. Stone also managed to get to the free throw line on two different occasions.
Stone played within himself and didn’t really try to force his shot. His game is around the basket where he can out-muscle just about any defender that’s in his way.
Stone also displayed another part of his game.
With 7:24 left in the opening half, the Milwaukee native received a pass from Sulaimon in the high post and was able to splash home a long jumper over forward Alex Illikainen.
Maryland got phenomenal post play from just about everybody that saw the floor. With a backcourt that is among the best in the country and a budding frontcourt, this certainly is as close to a balanced rotation as you’re going to get.