Maryland men’s basketball is testing its range before Big Ten play | TAKEAWAYS

After a on Sunday, Maryland mens basketball challenged itself with a Wednesday matinee against mid-major Bucknell of the Patriot League.

The pairing might have seemed unworthy for a program that will open Big Ten play against visiting Ohio State on Wednesday.

But Terps coach Kevin Willard pointed out that finding an opponent for a game the day before Thanksgiving isnt easy or simple.

He also disclosed an ulterior motive for scheduling Bucknell (4-4).

They play a lot like Iowa, he said of the conference rival Maryland (6-1) will meet on Feb.

16 at home.

They pop the ball, they have bigs that can shoot it, they play with good tempo, they play a lot of zone.

So a lot of the scheduling, we have to balance the dates out with the women, we have to balance the dates out with finals, you have to find guys that can actually play.

But at the same time, this is a good Bucknell team.

When I watched them on film earlier in the year, I was like, Woof.

When they get their point guard [senior Elvin Edmonds IV] back [from an unspecified injury], theyre going to be really good.

Here are three observations from Wednesdays win: The hamstring injury that has sidelined fifth-year senior small forward Jordan Geronimo hasnt been an issue particularly against the Bison.

Thats because Gapare filled the void with his best performance as a Terp, coming off the bench to lead the team with 19 points (12 in the second half) on 7 of 9 shooting, including 3 of 4 behind the 3-point line, and grab six rebounds.

The junior power forward, who was one point away from his career high, smiled when asked what led to his explosive outing.

I think my teammates can probably speak to this, too.

[Ive been] trying to find myself in practice and find what I do best, he said.

Just keep doing the same thing every day.

For me, its a consistency thing.

Gapares display was stunning considering he had scored 16 points total in his first six games as a member of the second unit.

The 6-foot-9, 215-pound Georgia Tech transfer is capable of more, Willard said.

I think for me, its getting used to putting him out there with the right guys to help him be successful, he said.

Hes one of the more frustrating players Ive ever coached, and its more of a compliment than its not because its kind of what I see in practice a lot.

Ive got to give him a little bit more time to probably be out there and make a difference.

But he also has to understand that hes got to come in and just do what he did tonight.

He was aggressive from the start, came in looking to shoot, and he played really well.

Defense will always be a calling card for the Terps.

They are also demonstrating a lack of shyness when it comes to shooting from the perimeter.

Maryland launched 31 shots from behind the 3-point line against Bucknell, making a season-best 12.

The 31 tries matched a season high recorded in earlier this month.

Through seven games, the Terps rank sixth in the Big Ten in 3-point attempts per game at 25.

Thats an increase from the 21.1 long-range shots last years squad fired.

Marylands 32.0% efficiency rate behind the 3-point line ranks 12th in the 18-team conference and leaves much to be desired.

But Willard said he has no plans to rein in the players preferences.

We jack them up, he said.

Were not afraid to put them up, which is OK.

Going through last year, I sat down with an analytical guy, and pretty much he said, Youre better off jacking up a 3 than a turnover.

Turnovers in college, theyre killers.

So youre better off shooting the basketball.

A quick 3 is so much better than a great possession and then turning the basketball over.

For us, its at times just getting shots up.

Youre going to offensive-rebound it the way we have shooters.

So if youre playing that way, youre not going to turn the ball over as much.

The Terps are tied with Rutgers for the fewest turnovers (9.1 per game) in the Big Ten.

But causing turnovers and converting them into points has become a sound strategy.

Related Articles Maryland ranks fifth in the league in forced turnovers per game at 17.1 and is averaging 22.4 points off of those miscues.

It turned Bucknells 20 turnovers into 22 points, which ranks as the fourth-highest total this season.

Much of the Terps ability to create turnovers can be traced to the improvement in their offensive efficiency.

By scoring on 48.9% of its shots instead of the 41.3% that last years squad finished with, they can set up their press more often and turn up the heat on opponents.

Thats the one thing that I think weve done a much better job at this year than even the last two years, Willard said.

Were forcing a lot of turnovers, but were also capitalizing on the turnovers, which we are able to continue to press on multiple possessions.

Last year, we pressed one out of every five possessions.

Now were getting four possessions in a row, and thats going to wear you down..

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