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Maryland men’s basketball hit rock bottom.
Facing an opponent in Rutgers that had not won a game in 35 days, the Terps left their offense somewhere and sleepwalked their way to a 68-57 loss Sunday afternoon before an announced sold-out crowd of 8,000 at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey.
The Scarlet Knights (10-15, 3-11 Big Ten) had dropped seven consecutive games and had not won since Jan. 11 when they edged Northwestern, 77-75, in overtime. But they looked like a competent bunch against Maryland.
Tied at 27 at halftime, Rutgers opened the second half with seven straight points in a 1:45 span and then embarked on a 10-0 run later in the frame to create enough separation to thwart any semblance of a comeback attempt by the Terps.
Freshman shooting guard Darius Adams compiled 13 points and six rebounds for Maryland (10-15, 3-11), graduate student point guard Diggy Coit came off the bench to produce 12 points on 5 of 19 shooting, five assists and two rebounds, and senior small forward Solomon Washington added 11 points and 14 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. But the team squandered some precious momentum gained from back-to-back victories over Minnesota and Iowa in the previous seven days.
Junior shooting guard Tariq Francis led the Scarlet Knights with 21 points (including 14 in the second half), four rebounds and four assists, and freshman shooting guard Harun Zrno scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half and grabbed five rebounds. They ended a three-game skid to the Terps, who had not loss in the series since Feb. 6, 2024.
Here are three takeaways from the contest:
During the Big Ten Network broadcast of the game, the announcers mentioned that coach Buzz Williams had his players go through a 6 a.m. shootaround. The tactic did not pay dividends.
The Terps converted just 33.3% of their shots (22 of 66), which is tied for the fourth-lowest mark of the season. They were even worse from 3-point range, finishing at 23.3% (7 of 30), which ranks as the sixth-lowest total.
Maryland was particularly abysmal in the first half. It made 16.7% of its attempts behind the 3-point line (2 of 12) and even misfired on 4 of 5 free throws.
In the opening stanza, the Terps stumbled their way into droughts of 2:39, 2:36 and 2:22. And that futility extended into the second half when they went scoreless for stretches of 2:25 and 3:39.
Maryland didn’t help its own cause by flailing at the foul line; it made only 6 of 13 free throws, while Rutgers went 19 of 24.
Williams told the Maryland Sports Radio Network that the team’s offense is tied to the defense’s ability to create empty possessions of which he calls three in a row “turkeys.”
“Too many empty possessions in the first half that I told the guys about at halftime and then zero turkeys, and then we never got fouled enough to increase our points-per-possession,” he said. “I would never say it’s an offensive thing or a defensive thing. I think it’s all intertwined.”
Opponents had scored 76.4 points per game against the Scarlet Knights. But Maryland’s season-long offensive woes made the Rutgers defense look downright stingy.
In spite of the offense’s struggles, Maryland was still competitive as evidenced by the tied score at halftime.
But the defense that had hounded the Scarlet Knights into connecting on 34.5% from the court (10 of 29) and 10% from 3-point range (1 of 10) in the first half put on a disappearing act in the second half that was worthy of getting a show in Las Vegas.
Rutgers erupted to convert half (12 of 24) of its shots. The offense shot 50% behind the 3-point line (4 of 8) largely due to Zrno (3 of 5) finding his touch from long distance.
Williams said in Big Ten games, Zrno had attempted 89% of his shots from 3-point range. Despite that knowledge, the Terps lost him along the perimeter in the second half.
“I would say [Zrno] was in to be a spacer because No. 0 [Francis] has made more wood twos than any player in the country,” Williams said. “So [Scarlet Knights coach Steve Pikiell] knew we would be in gaps, and he knew that [Zrno] would afford us to make a decision on how to space. I thought our 3-point contests, for the most part, were good. Some of the switches on two of those 3s that 13 made, they were late.”
The Terps also sent the Scarlet Knights to the free-throw line too often in the second half. Rutgers made 13 of 15 foul shots in the final 20 minutes, while Maryland connected on just 5 of 8 free throws.
The Scarlet Knights had averaged a Big Ten-low 70.1 points. They fell just shy of that mark, but that was plenty enough to dispose of the Terps.
If you enjoyed rebounding and on-court foibles, this was the game for you.
Both sides combined to miss 42 of 64 shots in the first half, including 19 of 22 attempts behind the 3-point line. That left a lot of rebounds to be collected, which the Scarlet Knights won by a 22-21 margin.
As mentioned above, the Terps stumbled their way into several droughts, but Rutgers wasn’t immune to going into scoreless periods. It did not score a point in stretches of 3:15 and 3:13.
There were wacky moments, too. Washington actually got a piece of a shot by redshirt junior shooting guard Darren Buchanan Jr. that spun off the backboard and through the rim. Both Adams and Scarlet Knights junior guard Jamichael Davis were whistled for failing to inbound the ball before committing a five-second violation, and Coit turned the ball over when he moved along the baseline during an inbounds play instead of staying stationary.
This game likely tested the patience of basketball lovers looking for something to fill the void created by the end of the NFL season.
Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.
Continue reading...
Facing an opponent in Rutgers that had not won a game in 35 days, the Terps left their offense somewhere and sleepwalked their way to a 68-57 loss Sunday afternoon before an announced sold-out crowd of 8,000 at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey.
The Scarlet Knights (10-15, 3-11 Big Ten) had dropped seven consecutive games and had not won since Jan. 11 when they edged Northwestern, 77-75, in overtime. But they looked like a competent bunch against Maryland.
Tied at 27 at halftime, Rutgers opened the second half with seven straight points in a 1:45 span and then embarked on a 10-0 run later in the frame to create enough separation to thwart any semblance of a comeback attempt by the Terps.
Freshman shooting guard Darius Adams compiled 13 points and six rebounds for Maryland (10-15, 3-11), graduate student point guard Diggy Coit came off the bench to produce 12 points on 5 of 19 shooting, five assists and two rebounds, and senior small forward Solomon Washington added 11 points and 14 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. But the team squandered some precious momentum gained from back-to-back victories over Minnesota and Iowa in the previous seven days.
Junior shooting guard Tariq Francis led the Scarlet Knights with 21 points (including 14 in the second half), four rebounds and four assists, and freshman shooting guard Harun Zrno scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half and grabbed five rebounds. They ended a three-game skid to the Terps, who had not loss in the series since Feb. 6, 2024.
Here are three takeaways from the contest:
Maryland’s offense did not travel
During the Big Ten Network broadcast of the game, the announcers mentioned that coach Buzz Williams had his players go through a 6 a.m. shootaround. The tactic did not pay dividends.
The Terps converted just 33.3% of their shots (22 of 66), which is tied for the fourth-lowest mark of the season. They were even worse from 3-point range, finishing at 23.3% (7 of 30), which ranks as the sixth-lowest total.
Maryland was particularly abysmal in the first half. It made 16.7% of its attempts behind the 3-point line (2 of 12) and even misfired on 4 of 5 free throws.
In the opening stanza, the Terps stumbled their way into droughts of 2:39, 2:36 and 2:22. And that futility extended into the second half when they went scoreless for stretches of 2:25 and 3:39.
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Maryland didn’t help its own cause by flailing at the foul line; it made only 6 of 13 free throws, while Rutgers went 19 of 24.
Williams told the Maryland Sports Radio Network that the team’s offense is tied to the defense’s ability to create empty possessions of which he calls three in a row “turkeys.”
“Too many empty possessions in the first half that I told the guys about at halftime and then zero turkeys, and then we never got fouled enough to increase our points-per-possession,” he said. “I would never say it’s an offensive thing or a defensive thing. I think it’s all intertwined.”
Opponents had scored 76.4 points per game against the Scarlet Knights. But Maryland’s season-long offensive woes made the Rutgers defense look downright stingy.
The defense was there one moment, gone the next
In spite of the offense’s struggles, Maryland was still competitive as evidenced by the tied score at halftime.
But the defense that had hounded the Scarlet Knights into connecting on 34.5% from the court (10 of 29) and 10% from 3-point range (1 of 10) in the first half put on a disappearing act in the second half that was worthy of getting a show in Las Vegas.
Rutgers erupted to convert half (12 of 24) of its shots. The offense shot 50% behind the 3-point line (4 of 8) largely due to Zrno (3 of 5) finding his touch from long distance.
Williams said in Big Ten games, Zrno had attempted 89% of his shots from 3-point range. Despite that knowledge, the Terps lost him along the perimeter in the second half.
“I would say [Zrno] was in to be a spacer because No. 0 [Francis] has made more wood twos than any player in the country,” Williams said. “So [Scarlet Knights coach Steve Pikiell] knew we would be in gaps, and he knew that [Zrno] would afford us to make a decision on how to space. I thought our 3-point contests, for the most part, were good. Some of the switches on two of those 3s that 13 made, they were late.”
The Terps also sent the Scarlet Knights to the free-throw line too often in the second half. Rutgers made 13 of 15 foul shots in the final 20 minutes, while Maryland connected on just 5 of 8 free throws.
The Scarlet Knights had averaged a Big Ten-low 70.1 points. They fell just shy of that mark, but that was plenty enough to dispose of the Terps.
Entertaining basketball, this was not
If you enjoyed rebounding and on-court foibles, this was the game for you.
Both sides combined to miss 42 of 64 shots in the first half, including 19 of 22 attempts behind the 3-point line. That left a lot of rebounds to be collected, which the Scarlet Knights won by a 22-21 margin.
As mentioned above, the Terps stumbled their way into several droughts, but Rutgers wasn’t immune to going into scoreless periods. It did not score a point in stretches of 3:15 and 3:13.
There were wacky moments, too. Washington actually got a piece of a shot by redshirt junior shooting guard Darren Buchanan Jr. that spun off the backboard and through the rim. Both Adams and Scarlet Knights junior guard Jamichael Davis were whistled for failing to inbound the ball before committing a five-second violation, and Coit turned the ball over when he moved along the baseline during an inbounds play instead of staying stationary.
This game likely tested the patience of basketball lovers looking for something to fill the void created by the end of the NFL season.
Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.
Continue reading...
