Maryland Takes Another Road Game, this time in a Magical Finish
Zachary Wilson
Maryland grabs 1st win at Indiana as a member of the B1G.
After finally snapping that horrid away game losing record in their last match, UMD would again be on the road for their rematch against the Indiana Hoosiers.
While the Terps previous game, an agonizing start against Northwestern, showed plenty of strife in the land of slow starts, this affair would be the polar opposite of such an idea. Maryland came out strong shooting in the first half, as the Terps and Hoosiers match blow for blow from beyond the arc, both teams shooting a combined 6/6 from three to start this game.
Their shooting was so great, in fact, that UMD broke their season high for scoring in the first, notching 45 points on 17-31 total shooting. Anthony Cowan and Jalen Smith both entered the locker room with double digit scoring, holding a 9 point lead against Indiana entering the second half.
Indiana, however, would not let Maryland’s initial offensive success sway them, coming out in the second half with a 2 minute, 7-0, scoring run to cut the lead back down to three. The Terrapins’ shooting percentages sank significantly in the second half, with their overall shooting going from 54.84% (17-31) all the way down to 40% (10-25). In one stretch the Hoosiers would lead by as much as 9 after surmounting a near 15 point lead by Maryland in the first half.
And yet, the Terps were able to have the game within one point with :55 left in regulation, on the back of a stunning performance by Jalen Smith. On their next possession, Smith would again assert himself in the paint and make the game winning layup with :14 left on the game clock. The Hoosiers would proceed to miss their final shot at victory and give UMD their second true road win of the year.
Following an undefeated 2-game road stand, the Terps return home to host the Iowa Hawkeyes in a rematch of their disappointing loss back in the beginning of January. Iowa is currently ranked #19 in the nation, merely two spots behind the Terrapins themselves.
Notable Statlines, The Good and The Not So Good:
The Good:
Jalen Smith-In the midst of redundancy, I have to include Smith here again to headline this section. Not only did he score a new career high of 29 points, he supplemented that with another double-double. Smith was simply fantastic on the floor here, shooting his typical efficient shooting numbers (10-14) but taking way more shots and proving he can keep that efficiency even with a higher sample size.
Anthony Cowan-Despite his first half inefficiencies, Cowan finished strong and had 18 points on 6-15 shooting. Couple that with no turnovers and 4 assists, Cowan put in a better than average performance here.
Maryland’s Starting Offense-This was quite possibly the best start offensively I have seen from the Terps since way back in their game against Marquette. For a team with perimeter deficiencies, they sure didn’t shoot like it, totaling 9-17 beyond the arc in the first half. It showed that Maryland was able to replicate some other their past thought fluke shooting from three and excited many with the idea that this may become a more consistent showing.
The Not So Good:
Maryland in the Second Half-UMD blew yet another strong performance in the first half with sloppy starting play out of the locker room. Their shooting numbers fell, as well as their perimeter pressure (from over 50% in the first half to a flat 25% in the second). A much more complete and consistent game would be much more appreciated as opposed to this second half train wreck that the Terps had to dig themselves out of.
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