After one of the more fantastic losses in school history, No. 16 Maryland must quickly contract for Saturday’s Big Ten match with Penn State in University Park, PA.
Terrapins (21-7, 11-6 Big Ten) had won eight of their last nine matches before Wednesday’s crushing loss of 58-55 to Michigan State-when Spartans’ Three Holloman swung a 3-point at the Summer from just than Half Court.
In fact, Maryland’s seven losses all have been tight setbacks. Terp’s largest defeat margin this season is only six points as the team seems intended for a high NCAA tournament seed.
While Holloman’s Buzzer-Beater got all the headlines, the reality for Maryland was poorly shot from the field (31.3 percent) and the 3-point line (4-of-20) against the Spartans. Rodney Rice (20 points), Ja’kobi Gillespie (15) and Derik Queen (10) accounted for 45 of the squad’s 55 points while no one on the bench scored in limited minutes.
“I know we don’t have any bench points, but there are just not a lot of pictures to walk around with the first five (starters),” said coach Kevin Willard. “The first five are all guys who can score, so there is no one because they start five that I will not tell to shoot. So I don’t know where the shots will come from.”
Despite the loss, Willard was not about to hang on his head. After all, there is no time to sulk in March.
“I’m extremely proud of how these guys struggled all night and all year. They’ve gotten better,” Willard said. “We will go back, watch the movie, see where we need to get better and what adjustments we need to make. … It’s life in conference games – you don’t have much time to really feel sorry for yourself.”
Penn State (15-14, 5-13) is in a similar boat, after absorbing a tough defeat on Wednesday. Nittany Lions did not lose on a Summer Beater, but they held a half-time lead at Indiana and a two-point edge with six minutes to go before they came up, 83-78.
Ace Baldwin Jr. Led the road with 22 points and six steals, while Yanic Konan Niederhauser chipped in with 16 points and seven boards.
“We have had many fights, but our guys continue to show up and work,” said Penn State coach Mike Rhoaded about his team, who shot 52.9 percent from the floor but allowed Indiana to shoot 56.9 percent.
Nittany Lions risks missing the Big Ten tournament. In the current format, 15 of the 18 teams in the league will qualify for the conference event after the season. Penn State sits in 17th place with two matches left and probably has to beat Maryland and No. 11 Wisconsin to have a realistic chance to move to top 15.
“I think it’s a horse (poop), to be honest with you,” Rhoad said. “Everyone beats the chest about student athletes, and we are in the big, and we keep three teams out of it?”
Maryland and Penn State shared a couple of meetings last season. This serves as the only match with regular season between the team 2024-25.
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