COLLEGE PARK — UCLA officially received the green light Wednesday from the University of California Board of Regents for their pending move to the Big Ten in 2024.
At Xfinity Center here in 2022, the Bruins left no doubt about their future ability to compete in the conference.
Jalen Clark scored 16 of his game-high 19 points in the first half, David Singleton added 18 and No. 16 UCLA forced 13 steals and 16 total turnovers in a complete rout of an exhausted No. 20 Maryland squad, 87-60.
“They’re a good basketball team, and right now we’re just a little beat up and a little tired,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard said. “They came in, they played well. They were aggressive, and we were just a little bit defensive. And we just got off to another bad start, and it just kind of took the wind out of our sails.”
No Terrapin scored more than 4 points in the first half, part of an 8-for-26 effort from the floor in the frame. Ian Martinez led Maryland with 16 points, while Donta Scott added 12, part of a 40% overall shooting performance that was helped by a 13-for-26 clip in the second half.
After an 8-0 start under first-year coach Kevin Willard, Maryland wore the look of a team that’s been through the wringer.
“This the first time this team’s had to go through adversity. And we’re figuring it out a little bit on the fly, and we didn’t figure it out very well tonight,” Willard said.
The loss to the Bruins caps a 12-day stretch with four games against three ranked opponents — only the fourth such December in program history.
The Terrapins (8-3) won the first amid a raucous home environment on Dec. 2 against then-No. 16 Illinois. But in three straight losses, to now-ranked Wisconsin, No. 6 Tennessee, and to the Bruins, they’ve failed to break 60 points. Even with another 16,000-plus crowd all decked in white for the occasion, a 9 p.m. tip-off did them no favors, either.
Excuses don’t hold up against the Pac-12 stalwart Bruins, however, who only two years removed from a national championship game appearance showed why they’re still one of the best teams in the nation.
UCLA (9-2) controlled the game from the outset, even without a point by either side for the first 2:00-plus. What first looked to be sloppy ball control by Maryland was actually lock-down defensive strength by the Bruins, out-muscling and snatching the ball away early and often from unsuspecting Terrapins.
“I feel like we didn’t take a second to readjust when we seen people jumping in passing lanes, and when we don’t adjust to certain things in the game, they can have a big effect on you throughout the game,” Scott said. “So, I feel like we didn’t really adjust to that.”
By the time UCLA had taken the ball away four times, Maryland was 2-for-13 from the floor and down 17-5 with 11:26 to go. A 17-2 Bruins run later in the period extended the margin to 26-7, and a further 12-0 run left no doubt — even in the first half — about the outcome.
“I think you’ve gotta give UCLA credit. They just they just kicked our ass,” Willard said. “I don’t think we had a chance to really be physical. I think by the time we wanted to be physical, we were probably down 25.”
Bruins coach Mick Cronin hedged when asked what led to such a beatdown, attributing much of it to the difficult road Maryland’s had over the last two weeks.
“Obviously, we’re not that much better than Maryland,” Cronin said “They were in a bloodbath on Sunday [against Tennessee] … they were in a bloodbath at Wisconsin last week, as well.”
After a feverish near-miracle comeback against Tennessee after being down 21 points in the second half, Maryland’s emotional tank, as Cronin put it, “might have been a little bit on empty.” The Terrapins also once again lacked the size and athleticism to hang for a full game with a major conference opponent, one that the likes of the Big Ten schedule is full of in just a few weeks.
“Over this last stretch, we’ve been playing a lot of games. So, it’s been physically and mentally taxing, but you’ve just got to be tougher than that. We have another stretch just like this in January I believe. So, this is no excuse. we just have to learn from it and get better,” guard Don Carey said.
Willard stayed optimistic, saying his team’s in a good spot at 8-3 and this season’s first real dose of adversity — a couple of shots worth of it — will pay dividends deeper in the season.
“It’s not a bad thing and this team will bounce back,” Willard said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in these guys. I like where we’re at. We’re still in a great spot. They kicked our ass today. Give them credit.”
• George Gerbo can be reached at ggerbo@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.