Catch up on some takeaways from the Terps’ defeat.
Maryland men’s basketball had a prime chance Wednesday to secure a second straight victory, but instead it fell to a shorthanded Northwestern squad, 68-61.
“I didn’t like much about anything tonight, to be honest with you,” Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said postgame.
Here are some takeaways from the game.
Poor shooting cost the Terps
Having the No. 5 defense in Division I doesn’t mean much if you can’t put the basketball through the hoop.
While Maryland’s offensive woes have been on display all season, the shooting lapses were simply outrageous Wednesday. The Terps entered the game as the 12th-worst 3-point shooting team in Division I. They left XFINITY Center in the bottom 10 after a 2-for-22 performance from beyond the arc.
“We missed some good looks and it kind of affected us the rest of the way,” Willard said.
In the first half, Maryland and Northwestern went on two separate field-goal droughts of at least four minutes. At one point, Northwestern went without a made shot for over seven minutes, but still went on a 7-0 run during that span — all via free throws. Twenty-seven of the 53 combined points in the first half came from the free-throw line.
The Terps made five of 26 field goals in the opening 20 minutes, and with Julian Reese in foul trouble, he couldn’t get involved.
“[Northwestern] is one of the better post defensive teams,” Willard added. “They were extremely physical with [Reese] in the first game and I thought they were extremely physical with him in the second game.”
DeShawn Harris-Smith and Jahmir Young were the only Terps who had any sort of rhythm, combining for 38 points — and 12 of Maryland’s 21 made field goals.
Donta Scott went 2-of-9 from the field while Jamie Kaiser Jr. struggled immensely, missing all five of his 3-point attempts.
“Just don’t ask about the offense,” Willard quipped after noting the team’s solid defense.
The shorthanded Wildcats prevailed
Northwestern has been without Ty Berry for a few weeks, but on Wednesday it was also without starting guard Ryan Langborg after he was ruled out with an ankle injury. His 12.6 points per game were clearly missed in the first half, but the Wildcats still managed to lead almost the entire game.
“Even though it wasn’t the prettiest at times, you know, we were able to make a lot of plays,” Northwestern head coach Chris Collins said.
A large reason why the Wildcats came out on top was because of the play of sophomore forward Nick Martinelli, who posted a game-high 27 points.
“We just didn’t do a good job on Martinelli,” Willard said. “We kept closing out a little bit too deep. We wanted him to shoot the basketball. We didn’t want him to get in there. We just had some blown assignments.”
The Wildcats also relied on freshman Blake Smith to start and play 27 minutes. He made one of the biggest plays of the game, fighting through contact for an and-one with Northwestern up 44-42.
Maryland was actually able to hold Northwestern’s star, Boo Buie, in check with just 12 points, but it proved moot with the Terps’ own offense stagnant.
Too little, too late
In the second half, Young put it on himself to ensure Maryland’s offense didn’t embarrass itself. He scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting and dished out six assists to help the Terps score 37 points, but Northwestern — which made 14 of its 15 free throws — kept pace with 39 points.
“We just got down on ourselves early and we couldn’t fight back,” Young said.
Reese and Harris-Smith added 18 points. The rest of the team combined for three buckets.
Between a multitude of missed wide-open shots, allowing timely offensive boards and unnecessary fouls, Maryland was always playing catch-up.
The Wildcats led by five or more for over 17 minutes in the second half, and on the two occasions when Maryland made it a one-possession game, including in the final two minutes, the home team couldn’t take the lead.
“We play in a great league, so if we’re playing behind all year like we have, it’s going to be hard to get those wins at the end,” Harris-Smith said. “So I’ve been telling guys, we gotta be desperate from the beginning. Like we gotta be scared to lose from [the] beginning and not when the clock is three minutes left.”
The Terps made 11 more shots in the second half than the first. They made one three in each half.