Catch up on some takeaways from the Terps’ regular-season finale.
Looking to gain positive momentum ahead of the Big Ten Tournament, Maryland men’s basketball did the exact opposite Sunday night. It was easily handled by Penn State in the teams’ regular-season finale, 85-69.
The Terps lost their seventh straight game at the Bryce Jordan Center and are in grave danger of having their second losing season in the past three years. Their last sub-.500 campaign before that came in 1992-93.
Here are some takeaways from Sunday’s game.
Maryland was lost without Reese
Maryland’s game plan almost always runs through Julian Reese. Unable to go Sunday after tweaking an ankle in practice, the 6-foot-9 forward’s absence was felt in the worst way.
Head coach Kevin Willard said that Reese’s injury wasn’t anything serious, but “when someone logs that many minutes all season long, you gotta make sure you protect your guy.”
Instead of rallying in Reese’s absence, the Terps crumbled without their key forward, looking out of sorts on both ends of the court. Penn State thoroughly dominated Maryland on the interior, with the attack led by former Terp Qudus Wahab, who finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds.
The Nittany Lions nearly doubled the Terps in rebounding (Penn State won the rebound battle, 47-26) and corralled 14 offensive boards, managing 16 second-chance points.
Mady Traore started in Reese’s place, but struggled mightily in nine minutes of action, unable to create plays. Caelum Swanton-Rodger then saw extended minutes, some of which were serviceable, but struggled to stay on the court because of foul trouble.
“I thought [Swanton-Rodger] came in and gave us good minutes, but once he got tired, he’s not used to playing those minutes,” Willard said. “That’s kind of where our breakdowns kind of happened.”
Maryland managed just 28 points in the paint while the Nittany Lions scored 42.
A tough defensive showing
Often this season, Willard has shown perplexity at his team’s losing efforts despite its nationally-ranked defense. Reese’s absence was significant Sunday, but there was a lack of focus and effort on the defensive end seldom seen with this year’s squad.
Penn State guard Ace Baldwin Jr. glided his way through Maryland’s defense, scoring 17 points while dishing out 11 assists. For reference, Maryland managed 11 assists as a team. The Nittany Lions shot nearly 50% from the floor and went 18-for-30 from the field in the second half.
Maryland was never truly out of the game until the final 10 minutes, but it couldn’t get timely stops and failed to stop the bleeding on multiple occasions, with Penn State going on two separate runs in the second half to extend its lead to double digits.
Notably, Penn State scored 49 points in the second half after scoring 36 in the first. The Terps’ second-half scoring differential has been overwhelmingly positive this season, but they’ve been outscored in the final 20 minutes in each of their past three games — allowing an average of 46 second-half points in those losses.
Willard admitted to roster mistakes
After the whistle blew, Willard admitted what many have thought for months: mistakes were made in constructing this year’s team.
“The way I built this roster, a little bit, I put a lot of pressure on these young kids to be honest with you,” Willard said. “That’s the one thing I wish I could have redone, maybe get someone … even though I’ve seen them grow up and I’m really excited about Jamie [Kaiser Jr.] and DeShawn [Harris-Smith], I put a lot of pressure on them,”
Ironically, Maryland’s two best players Sunday outside of Jahmir Young were the two aforementioned freshmen.
Kaiser was the only Terp outside of Young to score double-digit points, putting up 13 points while adding a pair of steals. Harris-Smith had nine points, four rebounds and three assists. Both players shot 50% from the field; the rest of the team made 14 of its 42 shots.
Maryland is in grave danger of having its worst season in 30 years, and Sunday’s defeat, coupled with candid words after, showed that the disappointment is frustratingly coupled with regret.
“It’s unfortunate. I think the frustration level hit these guys,” Willard added. “We missed a couple of easy shots early in the game when it’s just like kind of been our [modus operandi] all year.”