No. 9 Maryland staves off UConn in Jimmy V Classic
NEW YORK — Breaking down No. 9 Maryland's 76-66 victory against UConn at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night in the Jimmy V Classic.
IN A NUTSHELL: This Maryland team is legit. It's early, of course, and it's been somewhat of a wild and confusing nonconference season, with some head-scratching results that coaches like to attribute to parity, but it's also safe to say that these Terps are one of the more consistent top teams. They're quite talented, too. They have now strung together a few performances against quality opponents that give a glimpse of how great they can be in March.
Building off the second half of its loss to North Carolina, Maryland played its best, most complete half of basketball in the first half of Tuesday's game against Connecticut. Freshman center Diamond Stone had 12 points and six boards — he finished the game with 16 and nine, both at least tying career-highs — while sophomore guard Melo Trimble added 10 points before halftime.
The second half didn't come nearly as easy; UConn's furious comeback attempt came quite close to succeeding. The Huskies pulled within three points with fewer than three minutes remaining — but then coach Kevin Ollie was hit with a most unfortunately timed technically, which allowed the Terps to pull away at the end.
It turned out to be more challenging than anyone anticipated at halftime, but the important thing for Maryland is the simplest: It passed the test.
BREAKOUT PLAYER: It's hard to say a five-star, ultra-hyped recruit is a breakout player — but we will anyway. Stone played the best game of his college career so far, dominating the paint early and often (until he landed in foul trouble) with 16 points and nine rebounds over the course of the game, both career-best numbers. He did not play down the stretch.
KEY STAT: 21. The KenPom.com ranking of UConn, the third top-30 opponent the Terps have faced so far this season. (UNC ranks ninth, Georgetown 28th.) The tough part is over; Maryland will not play a team close to UConn's caliber until it heads to Wisconsin on Jan. 9.