No. 25 Maryland sets program Big Ten record for most points in 101-75 win over Iowa

Edward Lee, The Baltimore Sun on Feb 16, 2025

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Maryland men’s basketball used halftime wisely, and it showed.

Facing their largest halftime home deficit of the season, the No. 25 Terps exploded for a 23-4 run to open the second half and turned back visiting Iowa’s upset bid for a 101-75 demolition Sunday evening before an announced 15,681 at Xfinity Center.

It’s the most points Maryland has scored against a Big Ten Conference opponent since joining the league in 2014.

Trailing 51-47 at intermission, Maryland outscored the Hawkeyes by 30 in the second half. It shot a robust 59.5% (22 of 37), and all five starters scored double-digit points for the fifth time this winter, matching Kentucky for the most such outings in Division I.

Sophomore shooting guard Rodney Rice fueled the second-half comeback with 10 of his 18 points in the first 1:36 on two 3-pointers and a layup and added four assists. Freshman center Derik Queen, a Baltimore resident, also scored 14 of his 18 points in the latter frame and amassed 13 rebounds for the ninth double-double of his career, and junior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored a game-high 26 points — 13 in each half — and accumulated seven assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Graduate student small forward Selton Miguel finished with 17 points and five assists, and senior power forward Julian Reese, a Randallstown native and St. Frances graduate, notched his 12th double-double of the season on 16 points and 12 rebounds.

The Terps even got six points, three blocks and two rebounds from fifth-year senior small forward Jordan Geronimo. His dunk with 11:12 left in the second half marked the first points from the bench in more than 80 minutes of action dating to last Sunday’s win over Rutgers.

Maryland improved to 20-6 overall and 10-5 in the Big Ten and reached 10 wins in the conference for only the second time in the last five years (11-9 in 2022-23, coach Kevin Willard’s first season). It collected its third straight victory and seventh in the past eight games.

The Terps’ formula for success in the second half was to do the exact opposite of what they did in the first. In the opening period, they turned the ball over 11 times, which the Hawkeyes converted into 23 points, got outscored 22-14 in the paint, and had only seven assists to Iowa’s 14.

In the final 20 minutes, Maryland committed just four turnovers, outscored Iowa 30-18 in the lane, and dished out 11 assists to the Hawkeyes’ two.

The Terps found their rhythm on offense early, connecting on their first seven shots, including their first four 3-pointers. Miguel’s third successful 3-pointer in as many attempts gave them an 18-13 lead, and a pair of free throws by Rice inflated that advantage to 20-14.

After Gillespie’s second 3-pointer of the frame made it 24-15, the Hawkeyes scored eight straight points fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers from brother forwards Payton and Pryce Sandfort. Even after the Terps scored seven of the game’s next 11 points to assume a 31-27 advantage, Iowa responded with a 9-0 run to take a 36-31 lead.

Maryland tried to chip away at the deficit, but the Hawkeyes continued to turn back the Terps’ attempts. A 3-pointer by junior shooting guard Josh Dix and an uncontested dunk by redshirt senior power forward Evan Brauns gave Iowa its biggest lead of the period at 51-44 with 31 seconds to go.

Miguel’s fourth 3-pointer of the half in six tries with three seconds remaining sent Maryland into halftime facing a 51-47 gap.

Pryce Sandfort came off the bench to lead Iowa (14-11, 5-9) in scoring with 15 points to go with three rebounds and two steals. Older brother Payton Sandfort finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, and sophomore small forward Seydou Traore matched his career high of 14 points in the first half and added two rebounds and two assists.

But the Hawkeyes fell for the fourth time in their past five games and are 0-7 in their past seven games against ranked opponents. The last time they knocked off a ranked team occurred nearly a year ago when they edged No. 20 Wisconsin, 88-86.