Ja’Kobi Gillespie delivered 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists to lead a balanced Maryland to a 76-68 victory over No. 17 Wisconsin on Wednesday in College Park, Md.
Rodney Rice also scored 16 points and Selton Miguel added 12 points on four 3 pointers, leading a long-range assault by the Terrapins (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten) an route to their fourth straight win.
Julian Reese worked inside for 14 points and eight rebounds while Derik Queen produced 12 points and 12 boards as Maryland toppled a Wisconsin squad that had won eight of its previous nine games.
In a matchup of teams that entered the game in the top 20 in offensive efficiency (KenPom.com), it was a defensive struggle until the Terrapins heated up midway through the second half.
Maryland did it with 3-point marksmanship, hitting 12 of 24 (50 percent) of its shots from deep while making only 40 percent of its shots overall.
John Tonje produced 23 points and six rebounds to pace the Badgers (16-5, 6-4), who lacked their usual offensive efficiency as they made just 37.3 percent from the floor and 9 of 27 (33.3 percent) from deep.
While Tonje made 5 of 8 of his 3-pointer tries; his teammates combined to hit just 4 of 19.
Maryland trailed 48-43 with 11 minutes left but erased the deficit with an 11-point burst, fueled by 3-pointers from Rice, Gillespie and DeShawn Harris-Smith.
The run gave the Terrapins a 54-48 lead which they did not relinquish.
Steven Crowl, who finished with 10 points, muscled for a three-point play with 6:24 left and Nolan Winter added a layup to help the Badgers close to within 57-56.
But Gillespie answered with a pull-up jumper and Reese followed with a three-point play as the Terrapins resumed control.
Wisconsin led through most of the first half, maxing out its advantage when Winter scored five straight points to make it 23-16.
But in the final five minutes of the period, Rice, Miguel and Tafara Gapare drained 3-pointers to help the Terrapins to a 32-31 lead at the break.
Much of the Maryland surge came with Wisconsin’s top two scorers on the season, Tonje and John Blackwell, on the bench with two fouls each.
Blackwell, who didn’t take a shot in the first half, had 10 points after intermission. His 3-pointer capped a 9-0 Wisconsin run early in the second half which put the Badgers up 42-36 before the Terrapins took over.
–Field Level Media
