Maryland’s second half charge at Purdue was impressive on so many levels but they came up short in West Lafayette, 73-70.
“We battled guys,” said head coach Mark Turgeon. “We weren’t good enough defensively at the end to win the game.”
The Terps (5-3) were down by as much as 15 points but the Terps fought back to tie with game with 56.7 seconds left. After Maryland was called for goaltending, Darryl Morsell had two free throws to tie it with 19.5 seconds left. He missed both. You can blame the game on free throws,” said Turgeon. “We were 10-21 from the free throw line and a couple of those were one-and-ones.”
The Terps would have another chance to tie the game at the end but Eric Ayala missed the shot. “Obviously we didn’t get what we wanted. They were switching all screens. You gotta get in the paint. You have to put pressure on them.”
Positives vs Purdue
Choal Marial looked like he’s progressing despite the fact that he was 0-4 from the field. Turgeon described his play as “best minutes of his career.”
Maryland’s defense was effective against Purdue’s best player, Trevion Williams – Turgeon: “Our post defense was terrific.”
After a scoreless first half, Donta Scott scored 15 points in the second half on 5-7 shooting.
Questions after Purdue
Hakim Hart started instead of the struggling Darryl Morsell. Turgeon said Morsell really “competed” and that he’s “just trying to figure our team out.”
Next: Wisconsin (8-1, 2-0)
The Badgers are coming off a quality road win at Michigan State. D’Mitrk Trice led Wisconsin with 29 points.
“Merry Christmas, Coach!” ??? pic.twitter.com/IFbHogwfub
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) December 25, 2020
The Badgers come into the game with a ton experience. “They have been around the same system around four or five years,” said Turgeon.
That longevity has Wisconsin second in turnover margin and third in turnover/assist ratio. “They’re long and athletic and play with their hands,” said Turgeon.
Maryland did a good job not turning the ball over against Purdue. That will need to continue on the road on Monday. Turgeon didn’t say anything about who will start on Monday. Hart had replaced Morsell in the starting lineup but there was no indication that it would continue to be that way.
Another key for Maryland will be their perimeter defense. Wisconsin has several threats from the three-point, something the Terps struggled with against Purdue. “We gave up three three’s in transition just laziness” said Turgeon. “Not rotating quick enough to the shooters, then we were late on switches.”
Monday night’s game is 7 pm on FS1.
