On Sunday Nov. 24, the Villanova Wildcats and Maryland Terrapins met at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ for the Saatva Empire Classic.
The first half was completely dominated by Kyle Neptune’s Wildcats and it looked like a repeat of last season’s blow out when Villanova beat Maryland, 57-40. Maryland struggled in the first half, unable to climb out of the 14-point deficit they found themselves in. However, after the half, the Terps came storming back with a vengeance not only cutting into Villanova’s lead but quickly taking the lead over themselves.
The comeback was led by Derik Queen who had 22 points and 11 rebounds on the day with some help from Julian Reese and Ja’Kobi Gillespie. The Terps were determined to impose their will on the Cats in the second half and a new game plan of stopping all 6’8 and 260 lbs. of Eric Dixon who led the Cats offense and the entire game today with 38 points. This is the seventh time both teams have faced each other and the second time the Terps have won this head-to-head matchup since 1985. Queen was named the MVP of the game which was well deserved since he engineered the comeback for Maryland.
In what felt like a March Madness game for a majority of the second half, the last 10 minutes were the most thrilling. A back and forth battle with Dixon knocking down 3-pointers and Maryland playing some tough defense. With 19.2 seconds left in regulation Queen who won the MVP of the Empire Classic hit a pair of free throws giving the Terps a one point lead. Dixon was able to get one last shot off with 2.4 seconds left but it did not go, leading to a 76-75 victory for Maryland.
Villanova drops to 3-4 and will face Rider at home on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. meanwhile Maryland moves to 5-1 and returns home to face Bucknell on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
