Terps’ loss to Clemson one to grow on
Struggles give UM glimpse of what to expect in Big Ten
In its first test of the season against a Power Five program, the Maryland men’s basketballteamcameupshort, struggling to maintain the strong offensive output from its first four games.
Here are three takeaways from Maryland’s 67-51 loss to Clemson in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge onWednesday:
Nobodywas able to take the lead on offense.
For the first time this young season, Maryland looked like a team that missed AnthonyCowan Jr. and Jalen Smith. After a layup from senior guard Darryl Morsell (Mount Saint Joseph) 44 seconds into the game gave Maryland its only lead of the night, the Terps went almost five minutes before their next basket. Points remained hard to come by after that.
Maryland scored just 15 points by halftime, just the fourth time in the past decade it has been held to 17 points or fewer in the first half. The Terps entered the game with six players averaging nine points, but suddenly nobody could break the scoring drought.
It was a combination of problems — Maryland missed open layups, jump shots and even free throws. Clemson, by far the best defensive team Maryland has faced, pressured the ball and denied passing lanes, and the Terps couldn’t adjust.
Coach Mark Turgeon was blunt in his assessment of what ailed his team on offense.
“We were about as selfish as any one of my teams have ever played,” Turgeon said. “We weren’t moving the ball. We weren’t moving our bodies. We were just standing [and] watching the guy dribble. …
“It’s not a hard game. You’ve got to change sides with it, andwe didn’t do that.”
The lack of ball movement and offensive identity has troubled Turgeon-led teams of the past, but it has often been masked by an elite scorer. To its credit, Maryland shot
52% from the field and its full-court trap helped in some aspects.
But the Terps need more from their best players as they face tougher competition in the BigTen. Morsellandjunior guardAaron Wiggins both shot 2-for-10 from the field, while junior guard EricAyala shot 3-for-7.
“Once we started moving the ball, we were much harder to guard,” Turgeon said. “We got 52% in the second half against a really, really good defensive team, a team that’s reallywell-coached.
“We’ve got to do it for 40 minutes. We’ve got to do share the ball better, move our bodies better going forward.”
DontaScott is earning an even larger offensive role.
The sole spark on offense came from sophomore forward Scott. After trailing by as much as 25 in the first half, Maryland cut Clemson’s lead to 12 in the second half, and Scottwas the driving force.
During a 17-4 run over eight minutes, he scored eight of his team-high 11 points, including two 3-pointers. Scott’s performance continued a strong start to the season in which he has showcased his offensive growth.
After averaging 5.9 points as a freshman, Scott is averaging 11.6 as a sophomore and has set his career high in points twice in just five games. He plays bigger than his 6-foot-7 frame and can post up, hit 3s (61.5% from beyond the arc this season), drive to the basket and even hit an occasional face-up jumper.
Morsell, Ayala andWiggins all struggled Wednesday night, so Scott’s aggressiveness was one of the few positives.
“I thought Donta played with a lot more toughness in the second half,” Turgeon said. “I think he got a little tired there [because] he had to play a lot of minutes. We had to play hard, we were pressing and doing different things.
“He’s been arguably our best player the last two games, sowe have to do a better job. We didn’t post him as much as we do. We were never really in sync offensively. We’ve got to figure it out beforeMonday.”
Maryland’s schedule doesn’t get easier, and it’sprobably for thebest.
The one caveat that came with Maryland’s 4-0 start was that each win was a blowout victory against mid-major competition. Turgeon seemed to invite his team’s close second half in a win over Mount St. Mary’s, which offered a rare moment of adversity during the team’s first twoweeks.
But Wednesday’s loss to Clemson was a reminder of why the Terps were picked so lowin preseason polls and howmuchwork they have to do.
With the bulk of Maryland’s nonconference schedule finished — the Terps have a home game against La Salle on Dec. 22 — it heads into its 20-game Big Ten slate.
Once again, the BigTen looks as if it is the best conference in the nation. Six teams are currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, and the Terps will take on one of those teams Monday night when they host No. 21 Rutgers. Two weeks later, Maryland plays atNo. 13Wisconsin.
Ayala said the team could viewWednesday’s loss to Clemson as a “learning experience,” noting that the team “breezed through” lesser competition in its first four games.
Morsell, the team’s most experienced leader who knows the tough road that lies ahead, smiled when asked if the team could respond froman early loss.
“What else can we really do?” Morsell said. “Who’s our next game, Rutgers? Yeah, we playRutgers next. We’ve got to respond.
“We’ll go back, look at the film, see what we can improve on. [With] Big Ten play coming up, we’ve definitely got to get ready for that, and I think this game kind of opened our eyes to it.”