PISCATAWAY, N.J. — With Rutgers defenders swarming and disrupting photographs, Maryland’s offense regarded misplaced. The relentless defensive effort compelled the struggling Terrapins right into a first-half scoring drought and turned the sport into an arduous comeback mission. However after Maryland answered and practically leveled the rating, one other prolonged droop doomed the Terps to a 64-50 defeat Thursday evening.
Maryland
Maryland’s offense sputters again in loss to relentless Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights (11-4, 3-1 Huge Ten) and their formidable protection accentuated a few of Maryland’s recurring points. The Terps slipped into these dreary stretches, missed their first 10 makes an attempt from three-point vary and completed with a season-high 20 turnovers. Rutgers’s strain created issues for the Terps and ignited the followers inside Jersey Mike’s Area, an 8,000-seat venue that amplifies the gang’s roar.
The Terrapins (10-5, 1-3) have been spiraling since their marquee win final month over then-No. 16 Illinois, which additionally has struggled the previous month. The Terps have misplaced their 5 video games towards major-conference opponents since that promising begin, with their solely two wins coming towards St. Peter’s and Maryland Baltimore County. Nonetheless, Coach Kevin Willard stated his group “responded nice” after enjoying “as dangerous as you may play” at Michigan on Sunday. In that sport, the Terps had been outclassed from the beginning and suffered a 81-46 defeat.
Maryland prevented one other meltdown, however the Terps’ 17-point output within the first half and the offensive points did little to encourage optimism. The Scarlet Knights’ defensive prowess — they entered with the fourth-best scoring protection within the nation — contributed to the difficulty, and Willard hopes the answer is so simple as returning to Xfinity Middle.
“Typically schedule dictates the way you play,” Willard stated. “We’ve performed nicely at dwelling. We simply haven’t been dwelling that a lot. I’ve the utmost confidence in these guys. We’ll get it going offensively once more. I’m not so nervous.”
The Terps had been lucky to face only a 24-17 deficit at halftime after an abysmal offensive efficiency. Their scoring drought lasted practically 9 minutes, and so they struggled from three whereas repeatedly dropping turnovers. The Terps lastly broke by with three baskets from the perimeter within the ultimate three minutes of the half. That late burst, together with strong protection amid the offensive woes, helped Maryland preserve the sport in attain.
“We had been in a position to have a next-play mentality and actually had been in a position to personal our matchups and actually simply attempting to battle and compete,” level guard Jahmir Younger stated of the Terps’ protection.
The Scarlet Knights’ lead had grown to 11 in the course of the first half, however Maryland had the margin right down to 4 after Younger drew a foul on a layup and made the free throw with 14:27 to go within the sport. The Terps then slumped once more, this time going greater than 4 minutes with out scoring. Rutgers capitalized with a 12-0 run. Throughout that stretch, Julian Reese was known as for a flagrant foul whereas trying to dam Paul Mulcahy’s shot in transition. Mulcahy, the sport’s main scorer with 15 factors, made each free throws, and the Scarlet Knights scored off an offensive rebound on the next possession.
By then, Rutgers’s lead had grown to 12 factors, and it managed the sport to the tip.
Right here’s what else to learn about Maryland’s loss:
Batchelor begins, Carey shines
Willard has tinkered along with his beginning lineup these days because the Terps have struggled, and towards Rutgers, freshman wing Noah Batchelor logged his first begin. Batchelor, a Frederick, Md., native, took the spot of guard Don Carey, the switch from Georgetown who has been struggling from three-point vary (27.5 %) this season. Willard stated he hoped Carey enjoying off the bench would permit him to “are available and be slightly freer as a substitute of being such a spotlight and having the most effective defenders on him.”
Carey entered the sport after the primary media timeout and obtained going late within the first half with a pair of three-pointers, then began the second half rather than Bachelor. Carey completed with 12 factors and made 4 of 8 makes an attempt from past the arc. Younger (13 factors) was the one Terp to attain greater than Carey.
“It’s a bonus coming off the bench generally,” Carey stated. “You get to gauge and see the ambiance and see the place the vitality must go on the court docket and what I want to supply for my group.”
Bachelor performed solely 10 minutes and had zero factors after not trying a shot.
Reese has handled a shoulder damage that stored him out of the St. Peter’s sport and restricted him in different outings. After Reese performed 36 minutes towards Rutgers, Willard stated: “I believed that’s the perfect Julian’s regarded in a very long time. It appears to be like like he’s again from these 12 days that he missed. His legs appear like they’re there.”
Reese scored eight factors on 4-for-5 capturing and grabbed six rebounds. It wasn’t a convincing efficiency, however Maryland wants Reese to match up towards the Huge Ten’s greatest facilities. After Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson punished Maryland with 32 factors and 12 rebounds, the Terps confronted Clifford Omoruyi, Rutgers’ 6-foot-11 junior middle. A lot of the Scarlet Knights’ manufacturing got here from their guards, and Omoruyi was restricted to 4 factors.
“I believed he battled all evening with Cliff,” Willard stated of Reese. “He simply had that look in his eye that he had earlier than he obtained harm.”