Maryland showed what it’s capable of on the road against a top-10 team Saturday, but the Terps’ upset bid fell short thanks to a red-hot run by Purdue midway through the second half. The Terps faded late in an 83-78 loss, heading home with their first Big Ten loss of the season despite 26 points and 12 rebounds from freshman phenom Derik Queen.
“I don’t care about the result of today’s game … I think very highly of the Maryland Terrapins,” Big Ten announcer Robbie Hummel said on the broadcast.
Maryland’s reliable offense, which hadn’t succumbed to the pressure of Mackey Arena for the first 30-plus minutes, faltered down the stretch. They turned it over multiple times in the game’s final five minutes and let Purdue take advantage on the other end.
The Boilermakers closed with the calm but intense nature of a team that played in a national championship game last season. Preseason Big Ten player of the year Braden Smith dominated in the contest’s final stretch, scoring or assisting on most of the Boilermakers’ baskets during that decisive stretch and finishing with 24 points, 10 assists and four rebounds.
Sunday looked like a matchup between two of the Big Ten’s better teams. The Terps and Boilermakers had identical amounts of field goals, paint points and three-pointers with just over 11 minutes remaining in the second half.
Maryland’s star pairing of freshman forward Derik Queen and junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie (18 points, four assists) dueled against Purdue’s veteran stars Smith and Trey They’ve established themselves as one of the conference’s premier duos and fueled the Terps offensive renaissance.
Queen was excellent. He settled the Terps down when the game looked to be in danger, hitting back-to-back three-pointers, his first two makes from deep this season. Queen played with patience and poise, the attributes coach Kevin Willard has said are his biggest assets.
Gillespie helped decrease Maryland’s turnover percentage from 17.5%, which ranked 205th in the country last season, to 13.7%, the eight-best mark in the nation. Its offensive efficiency has also jumped eight points, according to Bart Torvik. The Belmont transfer scored 18 points and made four three-pointers on Sunday. He also played a team-high 37 minutes.
But Maryland’s third star struggled. Senior center Julian Reese fouled out midway through the second half and only played 23 minutes, scoring five points on 2-for-6 shooting. The Terps also received only three points from their bench.
Purdue outscored Maryland 42-32 in paint points despite a significant size disadvantage. Kaufman-Renn overcame first-half foul trouble to score 21 points.
Losing on the road to Purdue isn’t shameful. The Boilermakers rarely lose at Mackey; Maryland last won in West Lafayette in 2015. Coach Matt Painter has won 83 of the past 95 Big Ten games there.
Willard will likely walk away from Sunday’s matchup feeling encouraged about his team, but a win would’ve been huge for the Terps.
