Maryland's season ends at the hands of Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament

Chase King
2 minutes ago
4 min read

Maryland’s (12-21, 5-17) early double-digit lead does not last as the Iowa Hawkeyes (21-11, 11-10) took over in the second half to bury the Terps disappointing season.

Maryland Men’s Basketball met Iowa for the third time this season in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, where Maryland fell for the final time, losing 75-64.

In the first match, Iowa handled the Terps in a twenty-point win at home. Maryland got revenge in February with an upset win at home.

Maryland is playing for the second day in a row after beating Oregon in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Iowa lost six of its last eight entering the game.

Both teams would come out of the gate playing rough basketball. Both teams had three turnovers and as many points before the first media timeout.

Maryland would storm out to the first big lead of the game after substituting in Isaiah Watts and Darius Adams. Watts made his first three three-point shots, which helped the Terps go on a 15-0 run and a 21-10 lead.

But Maryland allowed Iowa back into the game quickly, only scoring five more points in the last eight minutes of the half.

“We came out with that certain confidence. We’ve been playing well these last couple of games. We got in a rhythm, and then I think a little fatigue set in,” said Watts.

Iowa finished the first half on a 15-5 run, with most of its production coming in the paint. The biggest difference between the two teams in the first half was their paint production compared to their three-point production. Maryland lived and died by the three-point line and would go cold after the shots stopped falling. Iowa won the points-in-the-paint battle 18-to-6.

“I think they were able to pack the paint well. I think that was their game plan the whole time,” said Adams.

Adams and Watts would both go into halftime leading the Terps with nine points apiece, but Maryland would only lead 26-25 after leading by 11 with eight minutes left in the half.

Maryland finished the first half shooting 9-of-24 from the field, 4-of-15 from three, with Isaiah Watts going 3-of-5 from three.

Iowa would take over in the second half, being extremely efficient on offense while forcing turnovers at a high rate on defense.

The Hawkeyes finished the second half shooting 16-for-26 from the field and 7-for-13 from three.

Forward Cooper Koch finished the night with a game-high 19 points with 5-of-8 shooting from three. NBA prospect, guard Bennett Stirtz, came up big in the second half, pushing the tempo for the Hawkeyes and finding open looks. He finished with 17 points on 6-of-18 shooting, but had eight assists and two steals.

Iowa would take over the game in a 20-0 run that spanned five minutes and gave them a 17-point lead. From that point on, the Terps would be playing catch-up with the clock working against them.

Iowa also scored 13 points off turnovers in the second half. Maryland committed eight turnovers in both halves.

“There’s a reason they’re number one in the league at defensive turnovers,” said Head Coach Buzz Williams. “So it’s not only [a problem] for us or any team, the turnovers. But for us, we’re dependent upon offensive rebounds, and you need to shoot it in order to get an offensive rebound.”

For the Terps on offense, their philosophy changed as they would focus on paint touches. They finished the second half with only six three-point attempts, in which they made three.

They finished the half shooting 13-of-27 from the field and 9-of-15 from the free-throw line, but it wouldn’t be enough to outproduce Iowa.

Diggy Coit finished the second half with twelve points on 5-of-7 shooting after not scoring in the first half. Despite 60.5% of his shots coming from three this season, all of his shots came from inside the arc.

Freshman guard Andre Mills had one of his worst games of the season, shooting 1-of-13 from the field and scoring nine points while turning the ball over four times. He had scored in double digits in all of the Terps last seven games entering the game against Iowa.

His freshman counterpart, Darius Adams, finished the game with a team-high 14 points and was efficient while doing so. He was 6-of-7 from the field and 1-of-2 from three. He has flashed some consistency recently against Illinois and Iowa, but has struggled with his efficiency throughout the season.

“He’s amazing, I have no complaints. I love playing here,” said Adams on playing for Williams and at Maryland.

“We’re obviously going to have our talk, and we’re just going to do what we think is best for me,” Adams said, regarding his future.

With the loss, seniors Elijah Saunders, Collin Metcalf, Solomon Washington, and Coit have likely played their last games of college basketball. Senior Pharrel Payne, who has only played in 10 games this season, will likely apply for a medical redshirt, and his fate will be decided by the NCAA.

Now, Maryland shifts its focus to the off-season and the transfer portal, as it will likely add many new faces. The Terps haven’t lost 21 games in a season since 1940-41, when they went 1-21 and started 0-21, with head coach Burton Shipley.

Related Links