Story By: Sol Tucker
Photos By: Sol Tucker
San Francisco, CA–
For the Terps coming into this game today came with a lot of emotion and uncertainty within the program, but it didn’t stop the Terps from showing up to face the top ranked Florida Gators… however the result was a trip home to College Park and the end of the road in the NCAA Tournament.
Florida really was a different team coming out of the locker room in the second half and pulled together to overcome 13 first-half turnovers and used their size and bench depth to run away from the Terps, 87-71, in a Sweet 16 matchup at the Chase Center. The No. 1-seed in the West Region, the Gators won their ninth consecutive game to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2017.
One of the most notable stat lines from this game was that the Terps allowed 87 points, the most they had given up all season. Coming into the game today, the Terps entered as the sixth-ranked defensive team in the country.
Maryland scored 12 of its 38 halftime points off Florida turnovers, but they could not find a way to pull away offensively, which included shooting just 6 for 19 from three-point range.
“I think they were able to use their depth to pull away from us late in the second half and we just could not match their bigs in the middle, said Terps Head Coach Kevin Willard.
Derik Queen continued to carry the load for the Terps with 27 points, but the combo of Juju Reese and him just was no match for the Gator bigs.
The biggest question of the night came after Willards’ players had left the podium regarding his future in College Park. He also took a question regarding the supporting fans in attendance booing him as they left the team hotel prior to the game tonight.
“I haven’t had any other discussions, but perhaps my agent has. I have an agent, and you know agents like to talk about these things. I will have a sit down with my wife and family and figure what is best going forward. It’s tough to be in a place where I don’t even know who my next boss will be and there is no indication what that next move is going to be either. The guy who brought me here is gone, so I really do not know what my next step is going to be, said Willard.
Derik Queen was asked about the possibility of coming back next season and he sort of hinted at the same thing of “talking it over.” For the past week Queen has been predicted to be a lottery pick in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft and you can almost bet that if Willard leaves Queen heads to the NBA for certain.
So, where do the Terps go from here? With no coach… at least 3 departing players at a minimum. Perhaps it’s time to enjoy this run… because one thing that is for certain, College Park is going to look quite a bit different this summer.
