Maryland men’s basketball renewed its rivalry with No. 23 Virginia and looked for a statement win in Charlottesville. Coming off an encouraging showing against No. 2 Michigan, the Terps hoped to carry their momentum into a highly competitive nonconference matchup.
Maryland was in control early, holding a 19-11 lead late in the first half. But it was all Virginia from then on, as the Cavaliers pulled away to an 80-72 victory.
Here are the takeaways from the Terps’ eight-point defeat.
Maryland misses Pharrel Payne mightily
With Maryland’s leading scorer — who was injured in the first half of the Terps’ 101-83 loss to Michigan — the Terps were forced to play without Payne for just the second time all season.
It did not go well. Payne’s absence was evident during the course of the game.
Virginia dominated the game inside. The Cavaliers had 44 points in the paint compared to Maryland’s 10. Dallin Hall, Johann Grunloh and Devin Tillis are dominating the Terps inside.
For Maryland, it couldn’t get any offense going inside with the absence of Payne. Twelve of the Terps’ 21 made shots were from deep, with Maryland relying on its outside game without its star big man.
Maryland’s offensive sets looked lost with Payne sidelined. It took the Terps deep into the shot clock to set up basic offensive sets, which ultimately forced bad shots and lots of turnovers. The Terps finished with a near-season-high 19 turnovers.
“The thing that hurt us again was our turnover rate,” head coach Buzz Williams said. “Some of our breakdowns came from [when] we didn’t make a shot.”
Tale of two halves on both sides of the ball for the Terps
After a first half where Maryland battled for 20 minutes, but still trailed by five points.
Maryland’s offense did not make the trip on Saturday.
Maryland scored just 19 points in the first half, its lowest total in a half this season. The Terps shot just 5-for-24 (20.8) and 2-for-9 (22.2%) from deep. Maryland also had 10 first-half turnovers, which resulted in 12 points for Virginia.
It was the Terps’ defense that kept them in it throughout the half, suffocating the Cavaliers through sheer effort and intensity. Maryland was everywhere on defense, holding Virginia to 24 points on 9-of-33 (27.3%) shooting. The Terps also didn’t foul, allowing just five first-half free throws.
In the second half, the entire script completely flipped.
Maryland’s offense finally got going, especially from deep. The Terps hit 10 of 20 attempts from beyond the arc. Diggy Coit had three, with Elijah Saunders and Isaiah Watts adding two of their own.
The Terps also splashed seven shots inside the arc and nine free throws to add to the scoring barrage in the second half. The 53 points scored are the second most in any half this season for the Terps.
Despite the offense finally showing up, the defense disappeared.
Virginia outdid the Terps, scoring 56 total points in the second half. Dallin Hall and Jacari White combined for 30 points in the half to lead the offensive surge for the Cavaliers. Virginia shot 63.6 percent from the field, taking advantage of some easy shots given to them by a faltering Terps’ defense.
“They were shooting 48% of their shots from three and making 42%,” Williams said. “They made one in the first half and made six [in the second half], which was a game-changer.”
Virginia takes control of the game
For the second game in a row, despite hanging in for most of the game, Maryland lost its grip on the game in the second half.
Maryland fought back to take a two-point lead with under 15 minutes to go in the game, but it was all Virginia from there. The Cavaliers went on a 15-2 run to push their lead to 11 midway through the second half.
Maryland clawed back within six, but Virginia ballooned its advantage up to 14. The Terps closed the game out strongly to make the final score look nicer, but it was too late to overcome the large deficit.
This is a common occurrence for Maryland, with the Terps losing their lead in the second half against Michigan before ultimately losing by 18.
Maryland has struggled this season to keep up with opponents when they go on runs to close out games. The Terps struggled to stop the offensive wave from the Cavaliers, which ultimately resulted in Virginia pulling away.
“Some of the things that have plagued us all year long seem to be some of the mountains that we couldn’t overcome,” Williams said. “So we’re gonna keep trying.”
For Maryland, it does not have the offensive firepower to be able to fight back into these games once the lead is stretched out into double digits. Particularly, when playing a ranked team like Virginia on the road. After fighting for most of the game, a lapse in intensity for Maryland resulted in Virginia taking hold of the game and never looking back.
