David Coit scored 17 points to help 17th-seeded Maryland to a wire-to-wire, 70-60 victory over 16th-seeded Oregon in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament Tuesday in Chicago.
Elijah Saunders made 5 of 6 shots from 3-point range, scoring all 15 of his points from deep for the Terrapins (12-20), who face a quick turnaround, playing ninth-seeded Iowa Wednesday at 11 a.m. (local).
Solomon Washington and Andre Mills added 12 points apiece for Maryland, which avenged an earlier loss to Oregon in a disappointing season in which the Terrapins have compiled their worst record since the 1988-89 season.
Maryland dashed to a 9-0 lead and held it the rest of the way behind a defense that limited the Ducks to 36.5% shooting overall, including a 4-of-21 (19.0%) performance from beyond the arc.
Nate Bittle scored 16 points and pulled down six rebounds to pace Oregon (12-20), which finishes the season with its worst record since 2008-09.
Playing against the school from his home state, Kwame Evans Jr. added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Ducks. Takai Simpkins tallied 10 points and five assists.
Oregon got off to a terrible start, missing its first 11 shots from the floor. Meanwhile, Mills and Coit made two baskets apiece.
It was more than 11 minutes into the game when Bittle broke through and made the Ducks’ first field goal, hitting a tough chance from inside as he was surrounded by four Terrapins.
Later in the half, Coit and Saunders hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to cap a 10-point burst that expanded the Terrapins’ lead to 31-10.
Washington, who fueled the spree with a block at one end and a layup at the other, finished the period off in appropriate fashion as he threw down a dunk with 2 seconds left giving Maryland a 33-12 advantage.
When the half was over, Bittle was the only Oregon player who had scored from the field. His teammates went 0-for-15 in the period.
Down by 24, with less than nine minutes left, Oregon reeled off 12 straight points to cut the deficit to 58-46 with 4:59 left.
Oregon got the deficit into single digits on a 3-pointer by Jamari Phillips with 3:01 left but the Ducks got no closer than that the rest of the way.
Darius Adams added 10 points, all in the second half, to help Maryland sew it up.
–Field Level Media
