Maryland Basketball: Highpoints of Terrapins 2019-20 regular season
The Orlando Invitational championship was just the beginning
The Terps breezed through their non-conference schedule leading up to the Orlando Invitational. Maryland basketball fans were eager to see the growth of sophomores Jalen Smith, Eric Ayala and Aaron Wiggins. Smith finished that five-game stretch averaging 14.4 points per game and 9.4 rebounds per game with three double-doubles. Below are some of his best plays at that point.
Ayala was a 43 and 40 percent shooter from the field and the perimeter last season. While he has struggled to find his shot and rhythm this season, he did score in double figures three times during the span and was a vital part of the wins against Illinois and Nebraska in early February. Below are some of his best plays early in the non-conference schedule.
Aaron Wiggins has improved tremendously from year one to year two. While he can spot up for a three anywhere on the perimeter and knock down the shot, he can also drive to the basket for highlight-reel slams. Leading up to the Orlando Invitational, he averaged 10.6 PPG and 5.2 RPG. He had 26 points combined against Ohio State and Minnesota recently. Check out some of his highlights during non-conference play.
It was Anthony Cowan Jr. who led the way for Maryland basketball in the Orlando Invitational. He averaged 24 PPG, 4.3 APG and three RPG in the tournament. Cowan Jr.’s career with the team has been filled with highlight after highlight. He has been someone the team can lean on game in and game out. It was announced that he was the second player in Big Ten history to amass 1,800 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in a career.
In their 76-69 win over Temple in the quarterfinal round, Cowan Jr. dropped 30 on the Owls. This was a game where the three-point shot was used early and often. Both teams were a combined 21-of-57 (37 percent) from the perimeter. Alani Moore II balled out for the Owls with 22 points on 7-of-11 from the field and 6-of-10 from the perimeter. These two teams got off to hot starts this season at a combined 9-0 but the Terps are the only team that finished at the top of their conference. Check out the highlights.
In the game against the Harvard Crimson, Cowan Jr. was responsible for getting a 9-2 run started to tie the game at 53 under 10 minutes to go. He shot Maryland back into the lead from the perimeter and finished with 20 points, five assists and three rebounds in the 80-73 win. Those highlights are embedded on the next slide.
Finally, Maryland basketball met the Marquette Golden Eagles in the Orlando Invitational championship game. The Terps were up against a powerhouse playmaker in Markus Howard who scored 91 combined points in the tournament against Davidson and USC. He has averaged 27.6 PPG, three rebounds and assists per game this season. Maryland’s defense held him to six points on 1-of-12 shooting. That was his only single-digit scoring game. His counterpart, Cowan Jr., finished off the championship run with 22 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Check out the championship game highlights.