This past week was a big one for the Maryland Terrapins, as they picked up a much-needed quality win over then-No. 3 Iowa Thursday and followed that up with a win at Ohio State Sunday. There’s no denying that Mark Turgeon has a team capable of challenging for both the Big Ten and national titles, but in regards to the latter goal there was some work to be done seeding-wise.
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Prior to Thursday night Maryland’s best wins from an RPI standpoint (yes it’s a flawed metric, but the selection committee still uses it) came against UConn (45) and Princeton (59), with their best conference win being the thriller at Wisconsin (67) sealed on a Melo Trimble three in the final seconds. Those credentials led to many bracketologists placing Maryland on either the four or five seed lines, and the mandate was clear: beat a team worthy not only of inclusion in the Big Dance but one likely to be a high seed and then we’ll talk further.
Maryland did that Thursday night, limiting All-American candidate (and, at this stage, Big Ten POY frontrunner) Jarrod Uthoff to his first single-digit scoring night of the entire season in their 74-68 victory over the Hawkeyes. Maryland’s win over Ohio State, which was surely motivated by the beating they took in College Park January 16, wasn’t pretty but that’s life on the road.
Trimble and Rasheed Sulaimon hit big three-pointers down the stretch to help Maryland make up for rough trips to Columbus in 2013 (76-60 loss) and 2015 (80-56 loss), moving the Terps to 7-2 in league play and keeping them within a game of Iowa and Indiana.
But even with the two wins there is a question to be addressed: should we be concerned with the way Maryland has shot the ball from three in recent games?
Over the last four games Maryland has shot a combined 22-for-85 from three, 25.9 percent. That number is a far cry from their 36.2 percent shooting from three for the season, and the perimeter shooting has been a struggle throughout Big Ten play. Outside of the 100-65 home win over Ohio State, in which they shot 11-for-21 from three, Maryland has shot no better than 36.4 percent (at Wisconsin) in any of their league games.
The 30.7 percent shooting from three in conference play ranks tenth in the Big Ten, a low number for a team that has players capable of knocking down those shots at a solid clip. With just over 39 percent of their Maryland’s field goal attempts in conference play being three-pointers, this along with the team’s penchant for careless turnovers has made things more difficult than they should be on the offensive end of the floor.
So what gives? Cold spells can be blamed partially, with Trimble shooting 28.8 percent from three in conference games and Jake Layman (32.5 percent) and Jared Nickens (16.7 percent) struggling as well. The bigger issue may be the caliber of shots Maryland’s getting offensively, with many looks either being challenged, coming late in the shot clock or both. And in the case of Trimble, his not getting to the foul line at the clip he did a season ago can also be cited.
In Big Ten play last season Trimble boasted a free throw rate of 62.1 according to Ken Pomeroy’s numbers. This season: he’s down to a free throw rate of 22.7. Part of that rests upon the fact that Maryland has more offensive options, resulting in Trimble not being called upon as much to break teams down off the bounce and force the action. But there’s a balance that needs to be met there, and that could result in higher-quality jump shots for the sophomore down the stretch.
And even with Trimble not getting to the line at a rate close to last season, Nickens’ slump may be the most concerning. Given the other offensive options Nickens fits best as a catch and shoot guy who benefits from kick-outs from driving guards or the big men in the post. That’s a key role to fill on this team, and Maryland will need him to get going in this final full month of regular season play.
The perimeter shooting isn’t all doom and gloom for Maryland, as the currently struggling options can hit those shots. And it should also be noted that Sulaimon’s shooting 45 percent from three in conference games and nearly 48 percent overall, which has helped Maryland a great deal.
But at some point opponents, in an attempt to not only limit Robert Carter Jr. and Diamond Stone inside but also cut off driving lanes for Trimble and Sulaimon, will look to dare Maryland to prove they can knock down the three at a consistent rate. How Maryland deals with this will be key, especially in March when the chances to say “we’ll get it right next time” disappear. It will take shot discipline and better accuracy, but the good news is that Maryland is capable of making strides in both areas moving forward.
THIS WEEK’S CONTRAST IN OPPONENTS: The Terps have two games to deal with this week, as they visit Nebraska Wednesday night and host No. 18 Purdue Saturday. At 4-5 in conference play and 12-10 overall, the Huskers qualify as a team Maryland should take care of. But the same could have been said prior to Nebraska’s trip to East Lansing January 20, where they beat a ranked Michigan State team. Nebraska has one of the Big Ten’s best wings in Shavon Shields, and Kansas transfer Andrew White has proven to be a capable sidekick.
This is a game that will test Maryland’s focus, with a big game against a ranked team that has Big Ten title aspirations of its own to follow on the schedule. A win over Nebraska won’t do much for Maryland’s résumé from a seeding standpoint, but it will be a good indicator of the Terps’ focus.
Saturday at the Xfinity Center brings about the challenge of Purdue’s front line of A.J. Hammons, Isaac Haas and Caleb Swanigan, but their perimeter play has been a bit inconsistent this season. Purdue’s won two straight since their loss at Iowa, and with a full week off before Maryland arrives Matt Painter’s team should be well-rested for Saturday’s showdown.
BSL Analyst
Raphielle’s been writing about college sports for more than a decade, making the move to college basketball alone in 2013. Beginning his work with the former website CollegeHoops.net in 2003, Raphielle spent 3 years writing for NBCSports.com beginning 2013, covering CBB and the Olympics. In 2016, Raphielle joined Heavy.com. If there’s a game on, there’s a strong likelihood that he’s watching it.