Maryland basketball entered play on Tuesday night having lost four of its last five games as well as virtually any fighter’s chance of reaching the NCAA Tournament, but battled on the road at Wisconsin before eventually falling, 74-70.
The Terps trailed for the majority of the game but fought back in the final minutes to make things close, before a late three by Max Klesmit and ensuing free throws iced the win for Wisconsin. Maryland falls to 14-13 on the season and 6-10 in Big Ten play with the loss, and have now lost seven conference games by five points or less.
“These guys are playing hard, they’re working hard and they have a great attitude. They’re just as frustrated as I am with the fact that we can’t string together some wins,” Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said.
Jahmir Young (20 points) and Julian Reese (18 points, seven rebounds) once again led the scoring for Maryland, who struggled to find any perimeter scoring for most of the game. The Terps shot just 2-of-12 from three-point range before connecting on their final three attempts late.
Wisconsin improves to 18-9 on the season and 10-6 in conference play with the victory, after losing five of its last six games and falling out of the top-25 rankings. The Badgers shot only 4-of-17 from three, but made up for it by connecting on 28-of-31 free-throw attempts.
Maryland entered Tuesday’s game leading the Big Ten in scoring defense at 64.6 points per game, which ranked 22nd nationally. The Terps forced eight first-half turnovers as the teams exchanged runs throughout the first 20 minutes.
“We’re getting off to just slow starts offensively,” Willard said. “We’re just getting off to lethargic starts.”
A fast-break layup by Young trimmed the deficit to one with 4:16 to play in the first half, but that would be the final made field goal of the half for Maryland.
Four Badgers finished in double figures, led by an 18-point, six-rebound performance from senior forward Tyler Wahl. He led the scoring for Wisconsin in the first half with 10, as the Badgers took a 37-29 lead into the halftime break. Wisconsin shot 11-of-12 from the free throw line in the first half while connecting on 55% of its field goal attempts.
“You’ve got to give Tyler Wahl credit, because the kid plays really, really hard,” Willard said. “He was really the difference in the first half. I thought he really was aggressive – that was the most aggressive I’ve seen him offensively in the four or five games we’ve watched on film.”
Wisconsin extended its lead to double digits early in the second half, thanks to a three from Chucky Hepburn. The Badgers out-rebounded Maryland 33-24, which included five second-half offensive boards that led to extra possessions.
“I think the biggest difference in the second half is they got three huge offensive rebounds in the second half, while every time we cut it to three, cut it to two, they got a big offensive rebound and obviously Klesmit hits the huge three to really end the game,” Willard said.
Although the teams traded baskets down the stretch, Maryland was unable to overcome the deficit and some questionable foul calls. Young connected on a layup to close the gap with just over one minute to go, but the ensuing three by Klesmit pushed Wisconsin’s lead to seven and appeared to be the dagger.
Jamie Kaiser Jr. knocked down a three with two seconds remaining, but Jahari Long was called for a blocking foul on the inbounds pass which sent Klesmit back to the line to ice the game. That call, along with one that was made on a layup attempt by DeShawn Harris-Smith with just over three minutes remaining, just didn’t go Maryland’s way on Tuesday.
“I’m going to call the head of refs tomorrow at some point. I just hope I get an explanation on how DeShawn’s should have been an and-one and got overturned, and then he got called for an offensive foul on a bucket,” Willard said. “So it was really five points that we got taken away, so I think we deserve an explanation on why those calls were called.”
“It’s almost a curse being able to watch the videos on film now, because you get to see it real time and it can put you in a bad mood real quick,” he added.
Maryland will now travel to Rutgers on Sunday for a rematch with the Scarlett Knights, who defeated the Terps in College Park, 56-53, on Feb. 6. The game will tip at noon on BTN.
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