Terps' rebounding issues continue

WASHINGTON — Terrapin men’s basketball coach Gary Williams had several possible ready-made excuses at his disposal for explaining his team’s rebounding struggles in Sunday’s loss to No. 3 Villanova.

Williams could have blamed his frustration on his youthful frontcourt’s tough match-up with a savvy and super-athletic squad coming off a Final Four appearance or focused on his team’s depth issues inside without suspended forward Dino Gregory.

The 21st-year coach had an opportunity to lean on the inherent difficulty of rebounding out of the zone defense that seemed to be the only thing that could slow down the hot-shooting Wildcats.

But sometimes, the best explanation is much simpler than any of those.

“Rebounding is still going after the ball,” Williams said. “That is [Hall of Fame coach] John Wooden’s thing. That’s not my thing. He really believed in that — believes in that to this day.”

No matter the cause, rebounding continues to be one of the Terps’ biggest weaknesses. Villanova outrebounded the Terps 45-33, including a 23-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. Despite freshman forward Jordan Williams’ career-high 12 rebounds in a breakout performance, the Wildcats hoisted 22 more shots than the Terps and managed 19 more second-chance points.

All nine Villanova players who saw time recorded at least one offensive rebound to make sure the Terps’ second-half comeback effort fell short.

“Those offensive rebounds were big,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “They kept a lot of possessions alive.”

“That’s not going to get it done,” Gary Williams added.

In four games against power-conference opponents this season, the Terps (5-3) have yet to win the rebounding battle, leading to a 1-3 record in those games. They’ve been edged on the offensive glass by an average of 17.25 to 9 against their best competition against power-conference teams.

Williams started his postgame press conference talking about the Wildcats’ three-point shooting — the Wildcats hit 11-of-22 first-half treys. But led by six offensive rebounds by Antonio Pena — Villanova’s lone returning frontcourt player to log major minutes last season — the Wildcats’ rebounding edge helped them close out the win when their shooting went cold in the second half.

With that formula for success, the Wildcats, who have garnered national attention using a guard-oriented attack since Wright took over in 2001, can provide a good blueprint for the Terps, who start three guards and have experimented with a four-guard lineup at times this season.

“They were everywhere,” said Jordan Williams, who recorded his first career double-double. “They’re a very active team, offensively and defensively — rebounding-wise.”

Help is on the way for the Terps in the form of Gregory, who is expected to return Saturday from what has been an eight-game suspension for an unspecified team rules violation. The 6-foot-7 forward, who came on strong late last season, should shore up the Terps’ depth and inexperience problems.

They won’t have another chance to play a power-conference foe until opening ACC play with a Jan. 10 home game against Florida State.

Until then, they’ll have five games against small-conference teams and more than a month to figure out how to correct their rebounding shortcomings.

Guard Sean Mosley said nearly scoring an NCAA Tournament résumé-boosting upset despite several obvious issues is motivation enough to improve.

“If we limited their second shots and tried to pressure them on the perimeter more,” Mosley said, “I think we would’ve came out with the win tonight.”

edetweiler@umdbk.com