Maryland men’s basketball’s conference struggles continue in 93-63 loss to No. 12 Purdue

Photo courtesy of Kevin Snyder/Maryland Athletics.

Maryland men’s basketball began its February at the Xfinity Center with a slaughter.

Much like the weather – the high temperature in College Park on Sunday was 24 degrees – Purdue’s Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer were ice cold, combining for 48 points en route to a 93-63 victory for the No. 12 Boilermakers (18-4, 8-3 B1G) over the Terps (8-13, 1-9 B1G). The Boilermakers output ties their single game season-high in conference play, while they hit a new season-high 15 three-pointers.

Loyer led Purdue in points for the fourth game this season. He came up just one point shy of his season-high of 30 points, which was set in the Boilermakers’ opener against Evansville. His performance then is the most points any Purdue player has scored in a game this season. 

“Three [Smith] is outstanding,” head coach Buzz Williams said. “Highest usage rate player in the country. And when it’s not three or four [Trey Kaufman-Renn], it’s probably going to be two [Loyer]. I think that we could have executed the game plan better, specific to number two. But they’re really good.”

It was yet another sluggish start for Maryland, who never held the lead. As more time passed, the Boilermakers’ lead only grew – Purdue led by as much as 32.  

Unlike a few games this season, shooting was not a significant issue for the Terps. They finished the game at 39 percent from the floor and found success from beyond the arc, shooting at a 35 percent clip. In the first half, Maryland utilized its long range shooting, trimming Purdue’s lead to 10 at a point.

On the defensive end, the Terps had no answers for anything the Boilermakers deployed. Smith was a facilitating force, while Kaufman-Renn dominated down low. Purdue outclassed Maryland on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 37-26. 11 of the Boilermakers’ rebounds came on the offensive end, giving them 19 second-chance points. The Terps had no offensive rebounds at halftime and finished the game with only one.

“We have to salvage on both sides of the ball,” Williams said. “We’re making progress at times when the ball’s on the ground, but when the ball’s in the air, we have to stop allowing the other team to get it as often as they are.”

Purdue also capitalized on nearly every mistake by the Terps, scoring 22 points off of 12 Maryland turnovers. They killed Maryland in transition, scoring often and forcing the Terps into fouls. Elijah Saunders, who has dealt with foul trouble in multiple games, fouled out with 8:17 remaining. 

A bright spot in a bleak day for the Terps was Andre Mills – the redshirt freshman finished with 18 points, setting a new career-high. He shot 50 percent from the field while adding six rebounds and three assists. Fellow freshman Darius Adams also had a strong showing, adding 17 points and six rebounds of his own.

“Those two guys are hungry to learn,” Williams said. “I don’t think that most freshmen are as accepting of where they are and what they need as DA and Dre. I think they have special hearts, they’re curious in regards to wanting to learn, and their work ethic has continued to improve.”

Sunday’s outing adds another terrible conference loss to a string in what has been a season to forget for Maryland and their fans. Despite the recent gauntlet of three straight ranked opponents and two more lying ahead in the final stretch, the Terps are focusing on improving themselves rather than getting caught up in the negativity amidst the lack of success. 

“We’re not really focused on the outcome,” Adams said. “We’re focused on us getting better every single day and that’s going to make the outcome different. Obviously there’s frustration because we’re losing, but we’re also in the best conference in the country. We’re all locked in, trying to get better so things like this don’t happen anymore.”

The Terps will have to rebound quickly – they’ll welcome the Ohio State Buckeyes on Thursday.