Terps can’t overcome foul trouble, cold shooting
If Maryland men’s basketball had a boogeyman in the Big Ten, Michigan State would be the top seed for that role.
Just 14 days after losing by two to the Spartans in College Park, the Terps found themselves on the same end of a wider setback as Michigan State marched to a 63-54 win Saturday evening at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
Fifth-year senior point guard Jahmir Young led the way with a game-high 31 points, four rebounds and two assists, and fifth-year senior small forward Donta Scott compiled 13 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and seventh of his career.
But their performances weren’t enough to prevent Maryland from picking up its sixth consecutive loss to the Spartans and sliding to 8-16 all-time against them. The program’s .333 win percentage against Michigan State is its lowest against any Big Ten opponent, and the 16 setbacks are the most by a league foe.
The Terps (13-9, 5-6 Big Ten) had defeated Iowa and Nebraska before Saturday’s defeat. They have been denied a third straight victory in the Big Ten twice thus far.
Meanwhile, graduate student point guard Tyson Walker and graduate student small forward Malik Hall each scored 19 points to lift the Spartans (14-8, 6-5) to their fifth win in their past six games. Hall grabbed a teambest seven rebounds and scored 10 of their 12 points during a 2:23 stretch late in the second half as they swept Maryland for the third time in the series.
Here are three observations from Saturday’s game.
Foul trouble for Julian Reese was just as troubling for Maryland
As valuable as Young has been this season, the Terps
need Reese, their 6-foot-9, 230-pound Randallstown native and St. Frances graduate, on the floor.
That proved difficult Saturday when Reese picked up his first and second fouls in a 17-second span early in the first half. He then sat on the bench for almost four minutes before returning and then picking up his third foul several minutes later.
Eight seconds into the second half, Reese was assessed his fourth foul while setting a moving screen on Michigan State junior shooting guard Jaden Akins.
Reese’s presence on the floor was noticeable. With him, Maryland matched Michigan State, 28-28. Without him, the Spartans
outscored the Terps 35-26 overall and 30-18 in the paint.
Reese’s absence didn’t make much of an impact in the rebounding numbers, but he certainly might have helped Maryland make more of a dent in second-chance points. Michigan State owned a slight edge in that department, 11-6.
All of this reinforces how important it is for Reese to avoid unnecessary and silly fouls that force him to the sideline and open the door
for opponents to take advantage of a small Terps lineup.
Maryland reverted to its inconsistent long-range accuracy
The hope was that after an 11 of 26 showing behind the 3-point line in a 73-51 thrashing of Nebraska on Jan. 27, the Terps had found the form that had eluded them for much of the season. That doesn’t appear to be the case.
The offense converted only 23.3% of its 3-point attempts (7 of 30) with all seven field goals coming from Young (four) and Scott (three). Senior point guard Jahari Long, senior small forward Jordan Geronimo, freshman shooting guard DeShawn Harris-Smith
and freshman small forward Jamie Kaiser Jr. went a combined 0-for-6 from long distance.
Maryland connected on 10 of 25 shots (40%) inside the arc. So if the long-range shooting isn’t there, why not go inside to get closer to the rim for higher-percentage offerings?
Maryland isn’t getting enough apart from its usual sources
Basketball is meant to be played five-on-five. At times, the Terps are making it easy for their opponents.
Young, Scott and Geronimo accounted for 50 of the team’s points. Reese and Long provided the only other four points on a pair of free
throws each.
Usually, Reese would be a significant contributor, but the aforementioned foul trouble limited him. HarrisSmith, a freshman, went scoreless for the second time in his past five starts and the third time overall. Long, Kaiser and sophomore center Caelum Swanton-Rodger shot a combined 0of3.
Saturday’s game marked the sixth time Maryland finished a game with only five players scoring points. That might work if the team had All-Americans at each of the five starting positions, but it does not, which means the players have to dig deep and start finding ways to be more productive.