Maryland Loses At Penn State; Ohio State Up Next

Things were looking good for Maryland early against Penn State Feb. 5 in University Park, but some of the Terps’ glaring weaknesses offensively eventually took their toll and turned the tide for the Nittany Lions, who escaped with a 55-50 win at home.

The Terps came out swinging and exchanged blows with the Nittany Lions for most of the first half, but Maryland used an 11-0 run to mount a nine-point lead with 2:47 remaining before halftime.

But in less than three minutes, Penn State threw its counter punch. The Nittany Lions ended the first half on a 9-0 run and went into halftime all knotted up at 23 with the Terps. From there, the home team didn’t let the game get away from it again.

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While it remained tight throughout the second half, Penn State made the bigger plays when it mattered. Whether it was a steal or a made shot, the Nittany Lions made winning plays in the clutch and the Terps did not. In fact, down five with just under three minutes to go Maryland had numerous chances to either tie the game or take the lead.

In those three minutes, Maryland used its opportunities to miss a layup, fail to convert two three-pointers, and turn the ball over twice. Terps junior guard Eric Ayala did manage to hit two free throws during that stretch, but it was too little too late.

“Those were easy opportunities that I felt like we should have scored on,” Terps senior Darryl Morsell said after the game. “So I was upset. But I still have trust in my guys. We made the right plays on those plays. We just didn’t execute.”

The 50 points scored by Maryland was a season-low for the Terps, who have struggled on that end of the court for most of the season. Shooting 35% from the field and 18% (3-for-17) from three, the visiting team from College Park did not complement its strong defense on Friday night with any semblance of offense.

“They’re a really good defensive team,” Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon said. “Their steals are what they do. They’re really fast. They’re athletic and their five-man can really move and really guard. He’s terrific.”

The Penn State five man Turgeon was alluding to was senior center John Harrar, who scored nine points to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds on Friday night. Harrar contributed heavily to Penn State’s dominance on the boards, which resulted in a plus-11 rebound margin for the home team.

Adding to Maryland’s offensive woes were costly turnovers and limited second chances throughout the game. The Nittany Lions held an 11-5 advantage on the offensive glass while forcing the Terps into 16 turnovers.

“It really came down to 16 turnovers and we couldn’t get a rebound in the second half,” Turgeon said. “And a lot of it is because of our size. And I’ll have to watch the film, but we were trying to get [Harrar] boxed out but we just couldn’t box him out

The one bright spot for the Terps in this outing was Ayala’s scoring performance.

The Wilmington, Del., native matched his season-high 23 points and did so on 6-for-11 shooting from the field and 9-for-9 from the free throw line.

“Eric was our go-to guy,” Turgeon said. “Eric was our only guy that we felt could really make some shots and we were trying to play through him. So we’re drawing plays up in the sand over there on the board just to figure out ways to get shots, get the ball where we can get it.”

Maryland will look to get back on track before its next outing against No. 7 Ohio State in College Park on Feb. 8. The Buckeyes are riding a four-game winning streak and have not lost a road game since Jan. 3.

Similarly to Maryland, Ohio State doesn’t have much of a post presence, but the Buckeyes do have a versatile lineup that can do multiple things at both ends of the floor.

Led in scoring by sophomore forward EJ Liddell (15.4 ppg), the Buckeyes also boast two other double-digit scorers in Duane Washington Jr. (14.6 ppg) and Justice Sueing (10.9 ppg) as well as seven players total that average 6.5 points or more.

According to KenPom, Ohio State has the fourth-best offense in the country and 69th-best defense. The Buckeyes can be had for some points, but does Maryland have the offensive firepower to make them pay — or to even keep up?

That will be the biggest question on Monday when the Terps and Buckeyes take the court. It’s hard to imagine the 56th-best scoring offense in the country keeping pace with the fourth-best. Also, Maryland’s 38th-ranked defense might not be enough to stop one of college basketball’s most potent scoring attacks.

The key for Maryland in this game will be to play defense without fouling. Ohio State likes to do most of its offensive damage on the inside and take high-percentage shots. This typically leads to a lot of trips to the line for the Buckeyes, where they are solid as a team, ranking 32nd in the country in free throw percentage.

The Terps have struggled this year with teams that rebound defensively and cause turnovers. The Buckeyes are not that type of team, which should help Maryland out here. As will getting some home cooking in College Park.

But make no mistake about it, if Maryland wants to end Ohio State’s winning streak and get back in the win column itself, the Terps are going to have to find their offense and find it quickly.