Maryland men’s basketball came up short against Iowa in an 81-67 battle on the road Sunday, as the Hawkeyes offense demonstrated superior ball movement and decision-making while their defense took advantage of the Terps’ loose handle.
The Terps (11-6, 2-4, Big Ten) didn’t play terribly, shooting 49% with three double-digit scorers, but couldn’t stop the conference’s leading scorer, Kris Murray, in the closing minutes (Iowa is 12-6, 4-3 Big Ten). Julian Reese once again got mired in fouls for Maryland, but Jahmir Young turned in another impressive performance with 20 points for the fourth time this season. Iowa simply outplayed the visitors, assisting on 19 of 33 field goals while holding the Terps to zero fast break points.
“They’re gonna get some buckets in transition, especially at home,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard said. “I just thought their execution in the halfcourt was really the difference.”
Maryland entered Carver-Hawkeye Arena coming off a spirited 80-73 win over Ohio State at home. It defended its home court admirably, losing only one of nine games in College Park. The Terps’ success on the road has lagged, however, as they’re 3-4 anywhere else. Maryland has lost its last four away games, three of them at the hands of conference opponents.
Iowa had won three in a row, most recently in a 93-84 win over Michigan on Thursday. The Hawkeyes are led by Kris Murray, twin brother of former Hawkeye and fifth overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, Keegan Murray. The future first-round pick has soared since his brother departed, averaging 21 points and nearly 10 rebounds through 17 games compared to 9.7 points and 4 rebounds last year.
Maryland started off strong, with Reese dialed in on both ends. He scored the team’s first four points thanks to timely rolls to the basket, and locked down the paint from the jump. Iowa didn’t take long to assert its own defense, and exploited the Terps’ habit for turnovers by picking off Donta Scott and Don Carey out on the perimeter for easy buckets in transition. After the Terps got off to a quick 4-0 lead—their only time out front—the Hawkeyes rattled off an 8-0 run of their own.
Little-used Maryland forward Pavlo Dziuba entered the game with the second unit just before the midway point in the first half. Likely inserted for a presence down low with usual backup Patrick Emilien out, it didn’t take long for him to show feistiness attacking the glass.
Iowa’s Tony Perkins captained the Hawkeye’s transition offense, scoring 9 of his team’s 17 points in the first 10 minutes.
Reese, the Big Ten leader in fouls with 3.2 per game, picked up two more in the thick of the half. He stayed aggressive on offense to compensate, as he backed his man down by the basket, absorbed some contact and wildly threw one off the glass for the score to get his eighth point.
The Terps took only six threes in the first half, showing how they’ve altered their game plan in the last week with their long ball lacking. Last Thursday’s game against Ohio State saw them take a season-low 13 shots from three, as they opted to incessantly attack the basket instead.
Sophomore big man Reese had a lot to handle inside, as the Hawkeyes boasted a similar strategy. Murray and fellow forward Filip Rebraca normally combine for an average of 19.4 rebounds per contest, but it was Iowa guard Payton Sandfort who came out of nowhere with seven boards to fill the void left by his teammates.
Though the Terps continued in their fruitless long-range attempts, Iowa rattled off three straight, including two in a 20-second span in the final few minutes of the period to force the Terps out of their zone defense. The Hawkeyes pulled ahead to 35-21, the biggest lead of the afternoon, with four minutes remaining.
As the game strayed farther out of reach, Jahmir Young ran off six straight points to give the Terps life when other perimeter scorers came up empty.
The Terps entered the half trailing 43-33, as they sorely missed Reese’s rim protection when he rested on the bench. Iowa hit jumpers to keep the Maryland defense on its toes, but could get to the cup whenever they needed. Iowa also took better care of the ball, as it forced eight turnovers and scored 11 in transition.
Jahmir Young entered the break with 12 points and two assists, and scored eight of the Terps’ last 10 points before halftime to keep the game alive.
Hakim Hart and Scott hit Maryland’s first two shots out of the break, both from three, and Scott added a layup to cut the deficit to two before another Perkins jumper ended the run. Moments later, Don Carey added a long-range bomb of his own to give his team their third three of the three-minute-old half and fourth of the afternoon.
Making the extra pass was also a catalyst for the Terps’ early second-half success. They racked up three quick assists in five minutes, as many as they totaled in the first 20 minutes.
With Reese on the bench after another foul, Perkins converted a tomahawk jam to give himself 21 points, a career high after iffy performances in the Hawkeyes’ string of wins. The Terps cooled off once more, going 0-6 from the field to allow Iowa to regain a nine-point lead with 12 minutes left.
Scott and Young kept up their scoring down the stretch, but Kris Murray took over in the final 10 minutes. He made seven of his last nine shots after starting 1-6, giving his squad 19 points in the win.
“It hurts…he’s been hurt in every loss,” Willard said on missing Emilien once again with a bad ankle. “You look at his 17 minutes a game and you look at his stats and you don’t think he’s that valuable but he’s probably the most valuable guy we have. He doesn’t only back up Juju, he backs up Donte. Unfortunately, Pat’s probably out for a while. It’s tough to play so small in this conference, and Pat had given us such a great lift. He’s just steady.
The Terps will look to pick up the pieces on Thursday, when they’ll host a rematch against Michigan in College Park.
