Maryland men’s basketball came out of the halftime locker room down 14 points and needed to make a run to get back into the game.

But the Terps allowed Iowa the first possession of the second half, then turned it over on a bad pass through a wide-open Solomon Washington’s legs. 

Simple mistakes prevented Maryland from getting within single digits for the final 33 minutes of the game, as it was dominated 83-64 by Iowa in its Big Ten opener at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Saturday’s matchup between Maryland (6-4, 0-1 Big Ten) and Iowa (8-1, 1-1 Big Ten) brought two teams with entirely revamped rosters for this season.

“We did not play as hard or as together as we have to,” Williams said. “We’ve got to continue to stack those lessons relative to the process so that we can have some momentum going into games like this.”

Both schools feature first-year head coaches — Buzz Williams at Maryland and Ben McCollum at Iowa — looking to make a mark at their new programs. 

Iowa brought back only two players from last year’s roster, while Maryland returned none. 

Despite a shaky start to the season, things looked to be turning a corner for Maryland as Big Ten play began. 

The Terps practiced with ten players for the first time all season this weekend and defeated Wagner by 26 points on Tuesday. For a team that has failed to compete against top competition, having their guys back for conference play was huge. 

Still, a healthy Maryland roster failed to hang with Iowa. The Hawkeyes jumped on the Terps from the opening tip and never looked back. 

Williams’ Big Ten debut could not have gone much worse. Maryland never looked competitive against Iowa. Saturday’s performance was reminiscent of its losses to ranked Gonzaga and Alabama as the Terps looked thoroughly outclassed. 

With a juggernaut in No. 3 Michigan ahead next week — a team that beat Gonzaga by 40 — the performance against Iowa doesn’t give hope for an upset

Entering the game, Maryland led the NCAA with 203 made free throws and had the highest percentage of their points from the line of any other team. Maryland got to the line at the same rate, but struggled to knock their chances down.

The Terps shot 24-of-38 for a season low 63.2 percent from the line and missed both attempts several times in the second half. Darius Adams’ and Pharrel Payne’s usual aggressiveness was a positive, but their inability to knock down their free chances killed any hope Maryland had. Payne shot 9-of-18, and Adams was 6-of-10. 

Even with a healthier roster, the team didn’t play like it was. Myles Rice was supposed to be a major contributor to the Terps’ offense. The redshirt junior was held scoreless for the second time this season and didn’t make a field goal for the third time this season. All three have come in the Terps’ blowout losses.

Isaiah Watts continues to struggle as well. He hasn’t been consistent enough to earn more time on the floor. He played only ten minutes and scored just two points — marking the ninth time in ten games he’s scored six or fewer points. 

“We don’t know what the rotation is or the rotation should be, and collectively, we’re trying to find groups that will play hard and play together for longer stretches of time,” Williams said.

Payne remains the only consistent option for Maryland. He led the team with 17 points, while Diggy Coit scored 13 as the only other Terp to score in double figures.

Sloppy first halves have been the norm for Maryland this season. Against the best teams they have faced, it’s spiraled out of control in the second half to create lopsided scores. The same was the case against Iowa. 

Iowa started red hot from the field, knocking down their first six three-pointers and 12-of-16 from the field. Bennett Stirtz and Cooper Koch combined for eight threes on the day, and made five of the Hawkeyes’ first six of the game.

This left Maryland with a double-digit halftime deficit, but it could have been even worse. The Terps committed nine turnovers and didn’t make a field goal for the final three minutes, and allowed ten fast-break points to a slow-paced team, while Iowa also missed seven layups.

The same mistakes plagued the Terps in the second half. Iowa started the second half with a 12-2 run, its lead reached 25, and it never let up, handing Maryland its fourth loss this season.

“They, for sure, started the game really well. I thought they started the second half just as well,” Williams said. “I was very impressed with their team and with their coaching staff and what they were doing.”

The more Maryland plays against elite teams, the more obvious it has become that they are a rebuilding program.