Last season, Maryland basketball rode a 29-4 extended second-half run to a dominant 14-point upset of then-ranked No. 3 Purdue. It was Maryland’s first top-five win since 2016, and the atmosphere set the standard for what opposing teams who enter the Xfinity Center should expect.
On Tuesday night those same Boilermakers returned to College Park, this time ranked No. 1 in the country, seeking revenge for last season’s result. Purdue made it clear that there would be no court-storming this season, as Zach Edey’s 23-point performance propelled the Boilermakers to a wire-to-wire victory, 67-53.
“If you look at their schedule, you look at who they’ve played, where they’ve played. It’s the best team in the country. But for them to come in here and do this to us on our home court, that should be a little bit of an eye opener for everybody,” Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said.
With the loss, Maryland falls to 9-5 on the season and snaps its 19-game home winning streak.
“It’s definitely tough losing on your home court,” Maryland guard Jahmir Young said. “They’re a really good team, so if there is anybody I would rather lose to in this building it would be them. But we’ll bounce back.”
Young scored 26 points on 12-of-23 shooting from the field after missing last game against Coppin State with an illness.
“I think [Jahmir Young] would be the first to tell you that he didn’t play well,” Willard said. “He’s been so much better. I’m happy with the fact that he fought through it. He kind of got his legs back in the second half, so to me, that was the most encouraging thing.”
Outside of Young, Maryland’s offense was 9-of-40 from the field and 3-of-16 from three-point range.
Julian Reese, who had two of his best performances of last season against Edey and Purdue, was held scoreless in his 34 minutes of play. He was 0-4 from the field and did not attempt a free throw for the first time all season.
“That’s pretty much our biggest issue. He’s kind of struggled at times,” Willard said of Reese. “I think we’ve got to do a better job of trying to help him get some easy buckets at times to kind of loosen him up, but they did a really good job. They knew we’re going to try to go into him, they loaded up the paint.”
“[Reese] has got to realize that he’s number one on the scouting report and he’s got to bring it a little bit more than he has the last couple games,” he added.
Purdue jumped ahead 8-0 to start the game, thanks to three-point makes from Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer. As Maryland doubled nearly every Edey interior touch to force the ball out of his hands, his supporting cast was tasked with capitalizing on the open looks.
The Boilermakers connected on four first-half threes.
Edey led all first-half scorers with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, but his impact on the defensive end was of greater importance.
With Edey looming large around the basket, Maryland struggled mightily during the opening minutes, beginning the game 3-of-16 from the field.
“I think we just got off to a little bit of a slow start,” Willard said. “We had a lot of guys seeing [Edey] for the first time, seeing that size. I also think they are much better defensive team than they were last year.”
Young was held scoreless until the 9:06 mark of the first half with the Terps trailing 19-11. His eight first-half points led Maryland, who shot just 7-28 from the field and just 1-of-8 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes.
“We missed seven wide open threes in the first half. So I don’t know how much more we can do when you get a wide open shot,” Willard said.
Loyer connected on a mid-range jumper as time expired to give Purdue a 32-19 halftime lead.
Purdue stepped on the gas to start the second half as Lance Jones knocked down three of his first four three-point attempts to help push the lead to 22.
Jones entered the game averaging just under 11 points per game on 32% shooting from three. He started the game 0-5 from the field.
A mini 7-2 run led by Young helped spark some life back into the Xfinity Center with just over 13 minutes remaining, but Purdue immediately responded with four quick points to go back up by 20.
“I’d say my halftime adjustments weren’t great. We came out, we got a quick bucket and we broke down on two trap downs on Edey…Jones had two threes and that was kind of the ballgame to be honest with you,” Willard said.
Braden Smith scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half, connecting on both of his three-point attempts.
He and Edey were able to salt the game away down the stretch, as the Terps never got within 14 points. The Boilermakers recorded 16 assists on 25 made field goals in the victory.
“Offensively, they really move the ball,” Willard said. “They do that well. They work through [Edey] and when he is passing that way, they are going to get open shots.”
Tuesday’s game marked Maryland’s first home matchup vs an AP No. 1 team since Jan. 21, 2004 as the Terps now move to 4-2 overall in their last six games against top-ranked opponents.
Maryland will next travel to Minnesota on Sunday, Jan. 14 at 5:30 p.m.
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