What a weekend for Maryland basketball, as the No. 2 men's and No. 5 women's teams throttled mid-major opponents by a combined score of 182-100.
The best part about it? All 26 active student-athletes – Ieshia Small is sitting out this season per NCAA transfer rules and Dion Wiley is out 4 months with a meniscus tear – contributed to the wins on their home courts. The men's team lost on Tuesday at North Carolina and thus won't be No. 2 for much longer in the immediate term, but for the moment, the school has two top-five teams.
This weekend, Maryland basketball led its games for a combined 79 minutes and 28 seconds of a possible 80 minutes, spending 32 seconds tied. Neither team trailed for a second.
The women's team shot 37 of 65 from the field against Central Connecticut State, and the men hit 31 of 46 over Saint Francis. Team's converted on 61.3 percent of their shots. To put that number in perspective, UConn women and St. Mary's men lead the NCAA in team field goal percentage at 55.3 and 54 percent respectively.
Seven Terrapins scored double-digits in points, with Robert Carter leading the pack at 20, and 22 players in total saw the ball go through the net. Maryland's benches combined to score 83 points, and two Terps, Ivan Bender and Kent Auslander, also registered their first career collegiate points.
It was a true team effort.
Teams also knocked down 34 of 39 free throw attempts, good for 87.2 percent. That's 21.7 percent better than the Detroit Pistons professional basketball team is averaging this season – looking at you Andre Drummond – and the free throw line stands the same distance from the hoop for all. Last time I checked everyone's defended the same too.
The No. 5 Terrapins not only doubled their opponent in scoring, winning 86-43, but also doubled the Blue Devils in offensive rebounding, and nearly notched the same achievement in total rebounds, edging Central Connecticut State 43-22.
Most impressively for the men's Terrapins, they pulled off their largest victory of the season with Melo Trimble, the team's leading scorer at 14.4 per game, scoring just 3 points.
The offensive masterpiece displayed by both teams wasn't even necessary based on their defensive efforts.
The men's team shot to a better efficiency from three, at 47.4 percent on 19 attempts, than either Saint Francis and Central Connecticut State shot from 2-point territory. At nine makes from downtown, led by Jake Layman's four, the team finished with just one less 3-point shot make than the Red Flash had 2-point makes on 16 less attempts.
Opponents made 34 of 115 shots against the Terrapins this weekend, good – or bad – for 29.6 percent from the field. The team's blocked 13 shots, including three from Layman, and a pair each from Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Kiara Leslie. Terrapins teams combined had their shots blocked just twice.
In addition, the women's team forced 19 turnovers on its own, led by Walker-Kimbrough's 3 steals, while the two Maryland teams combined to turn the ball over just 17 times.
The Terrapins' teams played weaker opponents, but both top-five squads in the nation handled their non-conference business with authority. UConn saw both of its team win national championships within 24 hours of each other in 2014, and Maryland will head towards March with the same, actually pretty legitimate, plausible aspirations.
These are the good times.