By Deja Jones

After losing its fourth game in a row to Ohio State on Feb. 5, Maryland traveled to Minnesota and beat the Gophers on Feb. 8 in a nail-biting match, winning 67-62. 

Senior David “Diggy” Coit contributed to the Terps’ win with 29 points, scoring 20 in the final 13 minutes and the game’s final seven points, which led to a Maryland win. 

Following Coit, redshirt freshman Andre Mills scored 12 points, and freshman Darius Adams added 11. Senior Solomon Washington contributed 10 rebounds, nine points and three steals. 

The Terps’ late-game success against Minnesota offered a glimpse of the urgency coach Buzz Williams has been demanding from his team as conference play intensifies. 

Williams admitted this season has been disappointing for fans. The Terps currently hold an overall record of 10-14 and are 3-10 in Big Ten play. 

“There’s not an excuse or justification for our lack of success, other than we do have to do better and we will do better,” Williams said during a press conference on Tuesday, Feb. 10. 

Williams said the staff is continuing to study and evaluate ways to improve, adding that the system moving forward will be more sustainable. 

“We have to do a better job in our decisions. We have to do a better job in our evaluations,” Williams said. 

The Terps have suffered injuries throughout the season as well, with the most notable ones being to senior Texas A&M transfer Pharrel Payne and sophomore Kansas transfer Rakease Passmore. Payne last played on Dec. 13 against No. 2 Michigan, where he re-aggravated a knee injury originally sustained on Nov. 15. Passmore suffered a torn Achilles before the season started.

Although some fans believe the Terps’ lack of success is due to the injuries of the star players, Williams believes otherwise. 

“We can’t control the injuries. That’s not justification for our lack of success,” Williams said. 

“We just have to keep coming in with that level of physicality that we’ve been giving and that hard work that we’ve been doing,” said Colin Metcalf, a senior transfer from Northeastern.

When asked about the motivation to keep going through the remainder of the season, Coit pointed to the desire to win, the loyalty of the fans and the team living their childhood dreams. 

“I think the inspiration comes from different things individually. But as a team, this is what we live for,” Coit said during the press conference on Tuesday. 

Featured Image: Maryland men’s basketball Pink Out vs Iowa on Feb. 1, 2026. Photo by Deja Jones