Maryland men’s basketball drops conference opener 83-64 after Iowa’s hot shooting night

Photo courtesy of Kevin Snyder/Maryland Athletics

Finally geared with a fully healthy lineup, Maryland basketball sought a successful start to Big Ten play on Saturday with a road matchup against Iowa. It was anything but successful. 

In an ugly offensive afternoon for the Terps (6-4), they finished the day shooting 36% from the floor and an even worse 30% from three-point range. They fell behind to the Hawkeyes (8-1) early and never put up much of a fight, losing 83-64. 

It was once again senior Pharrel Payne leading the charge. The forward/center finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds, his second consecutive double-double. Just like in games past, he found much of his scoring from trips to the free-throw line. Payne – a 77% free-throw shooter entering Saturday – had a rough night at the stripe, finishing nine-for-18. That marks his second-most free-throw attempts this season, but his lowest free-throw percentage

It wasn’t just him that struggled – only two Terps finished with a net positive plus-minus: Isaiah Watts and Guillermo del Pino, who recorded two and zero points, respectively. 

Maryland’s main flaw was its turnovers, finishing with 18 to the Hawkeyes’ 10. The Hawkeyes’ defense never gave the Terps an inch and swiped 12 steals. Despite the Terps outrebounding the Hawkeyes, and finishing with more bench and second-chance points, their combination of sloppy ball control and a lack of shots falling was their undoing.

Iowa had a torrid start, sinking 13 of its 17 field-goal attempts and its first six 3-pointers. The Hawkeyes finished the game with 63 shots, hitting over 50% of them and 41% from long range. 

Senior guard Bennett Stirtz was on fire from the first tip to the final buzzer. He scored 25 points on 10-for-17 from the field and made four of his eight three-point attempts. 

Despite the Terps following their typical philosophy of forcing the ball inside, shots both under the basket and at the charity stripe would not fall. Meanwhile, Iowa got whatever it wanted in the paint, outscoring the Terps down low 44 to 20. They set the tempo early, scoring 21 points off turnovers and 15 points on fast break opportunities. 

Although early-season losses aren’t entirely indicative of a team’s quality, the Terps have struggled in the past five years after losing their first conference game, finishing the season below .500 in both years. 

They’ll now have a week to reset before Big Ten play trudges on. The Terps will welcome No. 3 Michigan to the Xfinity Center on Dec. 13.