Maryland men’s basketball slumps to 68-57 defeat against Rutgers
Heading into Sunday, Maryland men’s basketball was playing some of its best basketball of the season. Iowa had been winners of six straight before the Terps vanquished them at Xfinity Center to secure a two-game win streak.
But on their trip up to Piscataway, the Terps transformed back into the team fans have been accustomed to watching this season. On the back of a 22-of-66 team shooting performance and 10 giveaways, Rutgers pulled ahead of a lifeless Maryland squad that ultimately suffered a 68-57 defeat.
Maryland started just 3-of-11 from the field across the game’s first five minutes. Andre Mills and Darius Adams established the tenor of the attack with some physical drives, but reach-in fouls were the only thing to materialize from them.
But Rutgers wasn’t all that productive itself, grabbing a slight 7-2 lead before failing to score for over three minutes.
What transpired from there was a hectic, discombobulated display. The action featured baseline-to-baseline sprints, transition 3-pointers, travel violations and a blocked shot by Solomon Washington that ended up in his own basket.
The contest grew messy and disorganized, and head coach Buzz Williams’ squad needed to settle itself down.
That steadying presence didn’t come, though. Maryland and Rutgers embarked on a combined 2-of-16 stretch in the middle of the frame. On offensive possessions that could have been best described as a mad scramble, the Terps still passed up on numerous open looks from beyond the arc. Many possessions ended in a low-percentage layup look or heavily-contested isolation jumper.
Through the first 12 minutes, the two teams combined to shoot a paltry 27% from the floor.
Maryland finally found a sequence of consecutive buckets with just under five minutes to play in the half. Adams and Mills both sliced through the center of the defense on fast break opportunities. The former had a nifty finish with his right hand on the left side of the hoop, while Mills quickly dumped it off to Solomon Washington under the hoop for an easy layup.
But the quick run that resulted in Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell calling timeout proved to be an anomaly. The Scarlet Knight swiftly regained the advantage before the first half’s closing, capitalizing on a Diggy Coit turnover and Collin Metcalf foul on a 3-point shooter.
Some last-second antics resulted in Washington tying the game at the free throw line, 27-27, heading into the break.
But Rutgers channeled some deft shotmaking to build an early lead in the second half. With some offensive rebounding assistance, the Scarlet Knights went on a 7-0 scoring run. A dunk, 3-pointer and elusive spin-move layup forced an early Maryland timeout.
Through the half’s first six minutes, Rutgers shot 60% from the field. Unlikely hero Harun Zrno drilled his third 3-pointer to give Rutgers an eight-point lead — he scored 11 total points in those six minutes.
Maryland’s comeback bid didn’t start smoothly. Washington airballed a corner 3-pointer, and though Metcalf dragged down the rebound, his putback was rejected emphatically. Kaden Powers improved Rutgers’ lead off a Terps turnover just 30 seconds later.
A Mills triple cut Rutgers’ lead down to five points with 6:30 left to play, capping off a 9-1 Maryland run. Coit followed it up with some aggressive shot selection of his own, sinking a stepback midrange.
But Tariq Francis’ 3-pointer put Rutgers up by nine points and served as the dagger with just over three minutes left to play.
The Terps scored just seven points the rest of the way, capping off a demoralizing afternoon.
Three things to know
1. Downtown struggles. Maryland is no stranger to poor shooting performances from beyond the arc, but Saturday’s demonstration just looked ugly. Not only did the Terps finish 7-of-30 from deep, but ugly airballs and ill-timed attempts tainted the already-disappointing display. Coit went 2-of-10 from downtown.
2. First half turnovers. In the early goings, neither team could seem to keep the ball in their possession. Maryland gave the ball away six times in the opening frame, while Rutgers did eight.
3. Few free throws. Maryland outdid Rutgers in paint points, 26-20, but despite its activity around the hoop, it was unable to get any easy opportunities at the line. The Terps shot just 13 free throws Sunday, a stark decrease from its season average of just over 23. And they hit just six of those attempts.
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