Maryland men’s basketball comes up short down the stretch, falls to Michigan State, 61-59

With the final seconds winding down and a chance to force overtime or escape with a dramatic victory, Maryland men’s basketball had the ball in the hands of the player who has carried them all season.

Jahmir Young looked to go coast-to-coast after the Terps got a crucial stop, but lost control of the ball just before the final buzzer and was unable to get a shot attempt off as the Terps (11-8, 3-5 Big Ten) fell to Michigan State (12-7, 4-4 Big Ten), 61-59 in College Park on Sunday.

An Xfinity Center crowd that was loud all afternoon became lifeless as the horn sounded, with Sunday’s game serving as somewhat of a microcosm of Maryland’s season. They had just watched their Terps rally from a 15-point deficit, but as has often been the case this season, came up just short.

Michigan State enjoyed a 44-32 halftime lead after a first 20 minutes that consisted of sloppy Maryland offense leading to a barrage of transition threes for the Spartans. Maryland turned the ball over nine times in the first half, and Michigan State shot 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. 

“[Michigan State’s] first 10 minutes … they always jump on you,” coach Kevin Willard said. “It just took us a while, unfortunately, to kind of get used to their speed.”

It was an uncharacteristic half for a Maryland defense that entered Sunday with the 23rd-ranked defense in Division I according to KenPom defensive efficiency – Michigan State’s 44 points were the most Maryland has allowed in a first half all season. The Terps answered the bell after the break, holding Michigan State to just six points through the first 12 minutes of the second half.

But Maryland’s offense went cold again when it had a chance to pull away down the stretch. After a Jahmir Young 3-pointer with 8:26 remaining gave Maryland its first lead since early in the first half, the Terps scored just two points over the next seven minutes and found themselves again fighting from behind in the final minutes.

Long offensive droughts have been a common theme for Maryland all year – it went more than eight minutes without a field goal during a 17-1 Michigan State run over the middle portion of the first half.

The home crowd was ready to erupt as Maryland looked to capitalize on the momentum from a 21-6 run out of the halftime break, but the Terps were never able to increase their lead by more than one possession despite a defense that completely flipped the script in the final 20 minutes. Michigan State shot just 27 percent from the field and 17 percent from 3-point range in the second half.

“We watched our defense [at halftime],” Willard said. “We just counted how many times we gave them points in transition and just talked about ‘let’s get back in transition.’”

Tyson Walker – who led Michigan State with 15 points – buried a stepback 3-pointer to give the Spartans a four-point lead with under a minute remaining. Young quickly responded with a jumper of his own, but it was ruled a two-pointer after video review clearly showed his foot on the 3-point line.

Young led all scorers with 19 points, but turned the ball over seven times, his last representing the nail in the coffin in the final seconds of the game. Willard elected not to use his final timeout and allowed Young to attempt to go the length of the court after securing the rebound – a decision he says he regrets.

“You have a senior guard who you really depend on and who I have a lot of confidence in,” Willard said. “That’s on me … I should have called a timeout.”

Maryland was beaten badly in the turnover department for the second consecutive game – the Terps finished with 18 giveaways to Michigan State’s eight.

“That’s a lot on us,” said Donta Scott, who finished with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting. “We already discussed that they were going to be in the gaps and I feel like at times we didn’t really think about it too much.”

The Terps shot a respectable 8-for-22 from beyond the arc and crushed the Spartans on the glass with a 37-22 rebounding advantage, but managed just 11 free-throw attempts and routinely turned the ball over in critical situations.

Maryland’s win over Illinois last Sunday represented a potential turning of the corner in a season that has fallen well short of preseason expectations. But the Terps came up just short in consecutive Quadrant I games to kill any momentum that came from their upset victory in Champaign.

Maryland is now 0-5 this season in one-possession games. If two or three of those end differently, the Terps might be in fair shape. Instead, it’s clear that the final dozen regular season games will be a massive uphill battle to keep any postseason hopes alive.