Maryland men’s basketball needed a solid performance against Georgetown Friday at the Xfinity Center to prove to the Terps’ faithful that it remains worth investing in after a stellar 2024 season.
But Maryland faltered, coming out flat and letting the game slip away as the second half drew on, ultimately falling to the Hoyas, 70-60.
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Here are three takeaways from the game.
Maryland’s offense looks far from developed
The Terps sank just one field goal in the first 10 minutes of play. That should indicate just about everything you need to know about the offense’s current status.
Maryland couldn’t even score a single point until over three minutes had elapsed, and part of that was due to the lack of cohesion in its starting five. Freshman Guillermo Del Pino played the first minute, got the ball stripped from him on the way up the court and subsequently fouled the player who took his lunch money, sending him to the free throw line. He didn’t see the court for the rest of the game.
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In terms of tangible offensive execution, it was sloppy at best. Maryland didn’t make a single 3-pointer until just over 17 minutes had elapsed, on its tenth attempt of the night. And the Terps’ guards had a far tougher time feasting like they did against lesser competition in Coppin State. Notably, Darius Adams’ shot creation and craftiness dissipated substantially against far more physical and athletic competition.
But the most glaring and troublesome problem was the look of Maryland’s offense when they played through Pharrel Payne. It’s obvious — teams understand that Payne is the premier scorer on the team. Georgetown, knowing this, frequently doubled the big man and left him without options. And Payne’s not the post passer that Derik Queen was for the Terps last year, which meant the ball often got stuck in his possession. He’s still the engine of the offense, and even had some nice dishes, but Maryland will need to find more creative ways to work him the ball.
Screen-and-rolls also weren’t very effective, as Maryland had undersized fours like George Turkson Jr. trying to clear space for guards. Fifteen of the Terps’ 27 opening points came off free throws — a decent portion of those could be characterized as late-shot-clock, desperation drives when the play broke down.
“We’re going to have to shoot a lot of free throws,” Williams said.
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The rotations are shaping up — kind of
With plenty of depth at guard, and less than substantial depth in the frontcourt, it was worth wondering how head coach Buzz Williams would allocate minutes to various players. Against quality competition like Georgetown, his prospective philosophy became a bit more clear.
At guard, Del Pino probably shouldn’t spend much time on the court, if any, for the rest of the season, so he’s not really considered. But Myles Rice, Diggy Coit, Darius Adams, Andre Mills and Isaiah Watts all have a case to be made for impactful minutes.
“We need Myles to play, and we need Myles to play with a low turnover rate,” Williams said. “We have a turnover rate problem.”
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To start the second half, Williams’ starting five consisted of Coit, Rice and Adams at the one, two and three. And while it wasn’t a successful stint to start the frame for the group — Maryland was outscored 10-2 over the first 4:30 of the half — it showcased Williams’ willingness to concede some size for skill.
Mills and Turkson, the Massachusetts natives, are trickier to slot into the rotation. They played 20 and 12 minutes, respectively.
Mills, though just 6-foot-4, has been used traditionally as a three by Williams so far this year, and he’s got solid rebounding chops. He could turn into Maryland’s staple wing player, à la Selton Miguel in 2024.
Meanwhile, Turkson looks more and more like a situational four — which is interesting, considering he was primarily listed as a guard on the team’s website. But the move clearly shows Maryland’s need for bodies in the frontcourt, and at 6-foot-7, he gives Williams a playable reserve option.
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Right now, Watts seems to be a bit of an odd-man-out. He works best as a shooting guard, but hasn’t really found his stroke thus far. He went 0-of-5 from the field with four fouls in 18 minutes.
Late-game flashes not enough
Through the first 12 minutes of the second half, Maryland repeated its first-half struggles, going 2-of-16 from the field. But the Terps went 6-of-14 from there on out, nearly making more field goals in the final eight minutes of the game than it did over the first 32.
Mills got the action started with a contested three, and with under five minutes to play, the Terps found themselves within 10 points of the Hoyas. Rice and Payne were the steady veteran hands, with Rice draining a fadeaway midrange and Payne getting himself to the line. As Maryland drained more looks, the home crowd became more energized.
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But Georgetown’s shotmaking proved too much to overcome.
Confident threes by KJ Lewis and Malik Mack never let the Terps’ deficit get closer than seven late. And when the Terps needed to defend cleanly, they instead sent the Hoyas to the line, as they had all game long — Georgetown went 23-of-31 from the charity stripe on the evening.
“I do think that we have to defend without fouling more,” Williams said.
