NCAAB

Maryland Terrapins at Florida Gators

· Men's Basketball Championship - West Region - Sweet 16
27-9, 5-5 Away
Final
71 - 87
33-4, 15-1 Home

Will Richard and top-seeded Florida run away from Maryland's 'Crab Five' for 87-71 March Madness win

Highlight: Collective effort sends Florida past Maryland in Sweet 16

Coach Todd Golden could see his Gators wearing the Terrapins down.

Will Richard scored 15 points, Alijah Martin added 14 points and seven rebounds, and No. 1 seed Florida played a steady second half to run away from fourth-seeded Maryland and into the NCAA Tournament's West Region final with an 87-71 win Thursday night.

Walter Clayton Jr. contributed 13 points and four assists as Florida's senior leaders and their deep supporting cast took down Maryland's hardworking starters — one of Terrapins coach Kevin Willard's concerns coming into this matchup.

“We come in with great energy," said Florida reserve Denzel Aberdeen, who scored 12 points in 19 minutes. “Just everybody being ready, whoever’s name is called, I think that’s what we did.”

Freshman sensation Derik Queen scored 27 points to lead Maryland (27-9) in what might have been Willard’s final game guiding the program.

“I think their bench really wore us down,” Willard said.

Florida (33-4) advances to play Saturday against third-seeded Texas Tech, which rallied past Arkansas in overtime in Thursday's late game at Chase Center.

The Gators, in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017 and seeking the program's first Final Four berth since 2014, committed 13 of their 17 turnovers in the first half but took better care of the ball over the final 20 minutes. Florida already eliminated two-time defending NCAA champion UConn in the second round and is 10-1 in regional semifinals.

"The message was simple: We have to take care of the ball," Golden, the Gators' third-year coach, said.

The “Crab Five” — featuring WNBA star Angel Reese’s brother Julian, who had his sister in the stands to cheer — roared back in the first half when it seemed Florida might pull away. Queen, who hit a buzzer-beater in a 72-71 victory Sunday over Colorado State in the second round, shot 8 for 17 and made all 10 of his free throws.

Clayton, Martin and Richard combined for 42 points and three others scored in double figures for Florida. The senior trio had scored 56 of the Gators’ 77 points in the two-point victory against UConn last Sunday. That sent coach Golden back to the Bay Area, where he played for Saint Mary’s and coached at the University of San Francisco before taking the Florida job.

Now, they get to extend their stay into the weekend.

“It’s surreal, to be honest. The thing that I keep kind of going back to, selfishly, personally, I just don’t want it to end,” Golden said. “We have a uniquely tight group. ... It’s been an amazing run.”

What’s next for Willard? Willard’s future was unclear as he has been linked to the Villanova job and also publicly expressed concerns last week with the direction of the Terrapins program, calling for “fundamental changes.”

Fans booed the coach as the team departed its hotel earlier in the day.

Golden had described the Terrapins as “freaky talented” coming into the game.

Clayton from deep Willard had compared Clayton to Stephen Curry when it comes to shooting off the dribble.

Clayton had been 22 for 43 from 3-point range — 51.2% — over his five postseason tournament games coming in. He wound up 2 of 6 from deep.

Takeaways Maryland: The Terrapins were outrebounded 5-1 early before Reese’s offensive rebound, putback and three-point play at the 15:21 mark of the first half — and Maryland forced 10 turnovers over the opening 13:30 to get back in the game.

Florida: The Southeastern Conference Tournament champion Gators used their depth to generate a 29-3 advantage in bench points, with Maryland getting its first bench point with 1:15 to play. ... Alex Condon limped off to the locker room with an injury to his troublesome right ankle at the 12:16 mark of the first half and underwent a precautionary X-ray, then returned with 13:29 left.

How can I watch Maryland vs. Florida?

  • TV Channel: Maryland at Florida 2021 College Basketball, week 2, is broadcasted on TBS.
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Recent Plays

2nd 0:00 End of Game 71 - 87
2nd 0:00 End of 2nd half 71 - 87
2nd 0:24 Micah Handlogten Defensive Rebound. 71 - 87
2nd 0:25 DeShawn Harris-Smith missed Free Throw. 71 - 87
2nd 0:25 Foul on Urban Klavzar. 71 - 87

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/120.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMD https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/57.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originFLA
22-54 FG 30-60
40.7 Field Goal % 50.0
6-19 3PT 11-28
31.6 Three Point % 39.3
21-26 FT 16-21
80.8 Free Throw % 76.2
20 Rebounds 42
7 Offensive Rebounds 15
13 Defensive Rebounds 27
6 Assists 16
12 Steals 5
1 Blocks 2
11 Turnovers 17
1 Team Turnovers 2
11 Total Turnovers 17
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
17 Points Off Turnovers 17
7 Fast Break Points 11
30 Points in Paint 38
16 Fouls 22
3 Largest Lead 18

Game Information

Venue: Chase Center

Location: San Francisco, CA
Capacity:

2024-25 Big Ten Conference Standings

TEAM CONF GB OVER
Michigan State 17-3 - 30-7
Maryland 14-6 3 27-9
Michigan 14-6 3 27-10
Wisconsin 13-7 4 27-10
UCLA 13-7 4 23-11
Purdue 13-7 4 24-12
Oregon 12-8 5 25-10
Illinois 12-8 5 22-13
Indiana 10-10 7 19-13
Ohio State 9-11 8 17-15
Rutgers 8-12 9 15-17
Nebraska 7-13 10 19-14
Northwestern 7-13 10 17-16
Iowa 7-13 10 17-16
USC 7-13 10 17-18
Minnesota 7-13 10 15-17
Penn State 6-14 11 16-15
Washington 4-16 13 13-18

2024-25 Southeastern Conference Standings

TEAM CONF GB OVER
Auburn 15-3 - 32-5
Florida 14-4 1 34-4
Alabama 13-5 2 28-9
Tennessee 12-6 3 30-8
Texas A&M 11-7 4 23-11
Ole Miss 10-8 5 24-12
Kentucky 10-8 5 24-12
Missouri 10-8 5 22-12
Mississippi State 8-10 7 21-13
Arkansas 8-10 7 22-14
Georgia 8-10 7 20-13
Vanderbilt 8-10 7 20-13
Oklahoma 6-12 9 20-14
Texas 6-12 9 19-16
LSU 3-15 12 14-18
South Carolina 2-16 13 12-20
Full Standings