Maryland defeats No. 1 Alabama in the NCAA second round

BIRMINGHAM, AL-Fresh off a thrilling first-round win over No. 9 West Virginia, No. 8 Maryland faces No. 1 seed and No. 1 Alabama on Saturday night in the round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament. This is a rematch. The 2021 NCAA Tournament meeting between the two teams and the Terps will attempt to dethrone the No. 1 seed for the 11th time in program history. In the NCAA Tournament, this is the sixth time in program history that the No. 1 seed has won.

The game will be televised on TBS at 9:40 PM ET (8:40 PM CT) and fans can also tune in on the Maryland Sports Network (105.7FM – Baltimore, The TEAM 980 AM – Washington, DC, Sirius XM 201, One Maryland App featuring Matt Noble (game at a time) and Chris Knoche (analyst) call to action.

Maryland has a 43-28 record in the NCAA Tournament. The Terps have reached the Sweet Sixteen 14 times, the Elite Eight four times, the Final Four twice and won the NCAA National Championship in 2002. The Terrapins have won 15 of their last 16 opening round appearances, dating back to 1997.The NCAA tournament bid marks Maryland’s sixth appearance in the last seven years. It would be the seventh appearance in eight years had the 2020 tournament not been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Kevin Willard He becomes the first coach in Maryland history to lead his team to the NCAA Tournament in his first season at the helm.

The Terps are 10-30 all-time against No. 1-ranked opponents, and last beat the top-ranked team in the country on Jan. 19, 2008, when Maryland knocked off No. 1 North Carolina 82-80 at the Dean Dome. in Chapel Hill. James Gist had 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Terps and end UNC’s season at 18-0. Bambale Osby scored 21 seconds into the game to give the Terps the win. Maryland’s last game against a No. 1 team was on January 4, 2018, when the Terps lost to Michigan State 91-69 in East Lansing. The last time Maryland played the No. 1 team in the nation in the NCAA Tournament was in the 2016 NCAA Sweet 16, when they fell to No. 1 Kansas in Louisville, 79-63.

Series History – Alabama

• Maryland and Alabama have played six times in history with the Terps holding a 4-2 advantage.
• The fifth-seeded Crimson Tide won their only NCAA Tournament game, their last meeting 96-77 in Indianapolis on March 22, 2021, in the COVID Bubble. Current Oklahoma City Thunder swingman Aaron Wiggins scored a career-high 27 for the Terps (making 5-of-8 3-pointers). Current Terps Donna Scott (12 points and five assists) Hakim Hart (six points and four assists) played in the match.
• The previous meeting came in the 2013 NIT quarterfinals, when the Terps held off the Tide 58-57 in Tuscaloosa. Current Sacramento King Alex Len led the Terps with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
• On November 17, 2011, the teams met in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Alabama won 62-42. Maryland did not have a scorer in double figures in the game.
• The teams played two-game series in 1984 and 1985, with Maryland winning both games, 59-56 on December 8, 1984 in Tuscaloosa and 60-58 on December 21, 1985 in College Park. Len Bias led the team in scoring in both games with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the 1984 game and 14 points in the 1985 meeting.
• The teams first played on February 26, 1925 in Atlanta in the Southern Conference Tournament, with Maryland winning 27-21.

Fear the jahmir

• Jahmir Young is one of 10 active players in the NCAA with 1,900 points, 600 rebounds and 350 assists in a career.
• When the season started, many questioned by Jahmir Young the ability to translate his points from C-USA to Power 5 play.
• Young’s response has been a team-best 15.9 points and 3.2 assists per game. This season, he has eight 20-point games, including a season-high 30 against No. 24 Ohio State. In Big Ten play, Young was spectacular, averaging 17.7 points. He’s also the third-leading rebounder (4.7), leads the team in assists (43) and has the team’s fourth-most blocked shots (13).
• Young is the nation’s 12th active career scorer with an average of 16.5 points and 32nd in total points (1,962).
• Young recorded his first double-double (7th of his career) as a Terp with 30 points and 11 rebounds against No. 24 Ohio State. He became the first Maryland guard since Greivis Vasquez to have a 30-point, 10-rebound game. Vasquez had a triple-double with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against North Carolina on the 21st. February 2009.
• With 17.7 points per league game, Young ranked seventh among all Big Ten players in league game scoring. His 30 assists also ranked fourth in the Big Ten.
• In the win over Nebraska, he became one of two Big Ten players to record at least 18 points, 7 assists and 6 steals in a game since 2002-03. He joined Northwestern’s Chase Audige, who also did so this January.

The best defense in 40 years

• Allowing just 63.2 points per game, Maryland has put together one of its best defensive seasons in over 40 years. Kevin Willardfirst year at the helm.
• The last season to give up fewer than 63 points per game was 1981-82 (58.8 ppg) – a year before the ACC used the 3-point line and three before the shot clock was implemented in 1985-86.

Scott KEEP CLIMBING THE BOOK

• Donna Scott he became the 59th player in program history to reach 1,000 points in the win against Miami. He scored 24 points in that game and now has 1,317 career points. He is also the 17th Terp to score 1,300 points and 600 rebounds in his career. He has 697 rebounds in 128 games in his career.
• Darryl Morsell (1,090 points/510 rebounds/2018-21) and Anthony Cowan (1,881 points/508 rebounds/2017-20) were the latest 1,000/500 Terps.
• Scott is now 28th all-time in scoring and needs 38 points to pass Tony Massenburg (1,354, 1985-90) for 27th. He needs eight more boards to pass Johnny Rhodes (704, 1992-96) for 15th all-time.
• Scott was one of 20 players named the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year, as announced by the Basketball Hall of Fame in late October.
• This is Scott’s second year on the watch list after also receiving the honor last season. He joins Jalen Smith (2019-20) and Jake Layman (2014-15) as Terps to be recognized.
• Scott ranked 49th overall in the nation last season.

Winning numbers

• When Maryland wins, the Terps are averaging 76.8 points but allowing just 59.9 points per game. Maryland is also averaging 16.2 free throws and has a +4.5 advantage in rebounds.
• The Terps are holding opponents to just .408 from the field and .316 from behind the arc this season.
• Maryland is 20-2 this season when leading at halftime (Ohio State’s win snapped a 14-game losing streak at the half) and 17-4 when committing fewer turnovers (turnovers were the same against Ohio State). The Terps have also won 21 of their last 23 games when leading with 5:00 left.

Hart of the Terps

• Hakim Hart ends his senior campaign with his best numbers. The guard is averaging a career-best 11.6 points and 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
• Hart is the Terps’ second-leading scorer this season, highlighted by four 20-point games, including 23 against Penn State and 20 against Minnesota.
• Entering the Alabama game, Hart needs 41 points to reach 1,000 career points – which would make him the fourth player on the team to reach the career plateau.
• Over the past 10 games, Hart has hit a year-best 18-of-42 three-point shooting from deep (.429) while going 47-of-98 (.480) from the field.
• Over the past 15 games (dating back to Jan. 25 vs. Wisconsin), Hart has averaged 3.6 assists, including eight against the Badgers, six against Minnesota at home and seven against Northwestern.

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