Takeaways from Maryland men’s basketball’s 68-57 loss to Rutgers
Maryland men’s basketball took a two-game winning streak up Interstate 95 to Rutgers, looking to start a run that could salvage some pride late in the Big Ten calendar.
Instead, the Terps faltered out of the gate and failed to match the Scarlet Knights’ second-half tempo as they dropped a 68-57 affair. That gave the Scarlet Knights their first regulation win in the Big Ten and their first conference victory by more than three points.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Slow starts all around
Maryland has been plagued all season by shooters having off nights. From one game to the next, there is no knowing which Terp is going to take off.
Sometimes, that means none of them do.
It took more than 13 minutes for one Terp to make two shots. Diggy Coit eventually did that, splashing his second jumper of the night. Darius Adams and Solomon Washington finished the frame with seven points each on three made shots each — they comprised half of Maryland’s makes before halftime.
It was a truly ugly first half. The two teams combined to shoot 22-of-64 from the field and 3-of-22 from deep while adding 14 combined turnovers. That did little to inspire confidence in either team.
The lack of confidence extended to the players as well. Several times, it appeared Maryland was passing on shots it would have taken over the previous two games.
Almost every offensive change that gave Maryland life over its last two contests was nowhere to be seen. The Terps reverted to isolation ball, with players stuck in their spots and rarely attempting to get open.
With 6:15 remaining in the first half, there was a series of unfortunate events that perfectly encapsulated the night.
Isaiah Watts appeared to force an out-of-bounds turnover from a Rutgers player, but possession was given to the Scarlet Knights by the referees. Maryland head coach Buzz Williams decided to challenge the call and won it, giving his team a new lease on life.
However, a five-second violation by Coit on the ensuing inbounds pass gave the ball to Rutgers. But another turnover by Rutgers’ Jamichael Davis on their inbounds gave the ball back to Maryland. That made three changes in possession without a second ticking off the clock in one of the strangest hot-potato sequences this season.
When the referees are laughing — which they were by the end of that exchange — it’s a solid sign that things are not going as planned.
No homecoming heroics for Coit and Adams
Coit and Adams are the two players on this Maryland team whose hometowns are closest to the Old Line State. Neither of them are Maryland natives, though: they hail from two towns in New Jersey, each roughly an hour away from the state institution.
Getting back to Rutgers was a rare homecoming — Adams had his first collegiate game in the Garden State, and Coit had last played in New Jersey two schools ago in December 2023 — and both players came out shooting.
They were Maryland’s top and second-top scorers on the afternoon. Unfortunately for the Terps, they got there with wild inefficiency.
Adams went 5-of-12 for a team-leading 13 points, but all six of his second-half points came with the game already effectively decided. He missed multiple layups and only got himself to the free throw line once, something Maryland could not afford to see from its best driver.
Coit, meanwhile, went 5-of-19 for 12 points while failing to get to the free throw line. After passing up some reasonably open looks from 3-point range in the first half, he was biting on everything in the second half.
With six minutes remaining in the game and the Terps down seven points, Coit took six of eight shots for Maryland, including a streak of four in a row. He made just one of those six shots. The Terps could not afford to watch him fail to shoot his way out of the slump — but there weren’t many better options to pivot toward.
Mixed bag around the basket
According to Williams, bringing Collin Metcalf into the starting lineup over the last week was intended to help solve Maryland’s rebounding issues on the offensive and defensive ends.
Against Rutgers, that was effective. Metcalf finished with six offensive boards, and Washington had a staggering 14 rebounds en route to a double-double.
That rebounding success didn’t stop the Terps from getting bullied in the post, though. Rutgers’ run early in the second half was fueled by intentional touches in the post area. Time and again, the Scarlet Knights would shove the ball into 6-foot-10, 260-pound center Emmanuel Ogbole, who would draw attention before redistributing along the perimeter.
Eventually, though, Rutgers just stopped sending the ball back out. It had success with a steady diet of jumpers and layups, scoring 12 points in the paint and constantly baiting Maryland into fouling on drives or takes. With their premier big still in street clothes on the bench, the Terps had no answer.
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