Maryland lost to Oregon, 83-79, on Jan. 5, dropping a second consecutive conference game since the restart of league play.
Maryland (11-4 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) continues to struggle in conference play, going 0-2 on a West Coast trip through Washington and Oregon. The Terps are now 0-3 in true road games this season.
Maryland will look to protect home court when it faces UCLA on Jan. 10, but first, here are three takeaways from the defeat at Oregon:
It’s a game of runs.
Maryland led the entire first half, keeping Oregon at bay. The Terps built an early 13-point lead, but the Ducks chipped away and went into the locker room down just 45-42.
The Ducks’ effort at the end of the first half foreshadowed what was to come in the second half. Oregon opened up the second half with a 14-2 run to grab control of the game in less than four minutes (56-47).
“What I’m kind of noticing is when we come out at halftime the [starters] are really struggling,” Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said. “… We just need a little bit more energy to continue what we do to start the games. The start of second halves have been absolutely brutal and we just have to do a better job with those.”
Maryland, though, got back in the game with the help of junior Rodney Rice (19 points, 3-for-5 from three), who converted on a four-point play to trim the deficit to 64-60. Later, the Terps took a 71-67 lead with the help of junior Ja’Kobi Gillespie and freshman Derik Queen. All in all, it was a 24-9 run for the Terps.
However, Maryland had a disastrous end to another game. Oregon finished the game on a 16-8 run, and the Terps went cold in the final two minutes as the Ducks bled the clock.
Maryland had no answer for Jackson Shelstad.
Five Ducks scored in double digits led by sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad, who finished with a game-high 23 points (5-for-5 from three) and five rebounds.
Shelstad had a perfect first half, scoring 14 points without missing a shot.
Maryland was more efficient from three.
The Terps went 2-for-11 from deep against Washington but improved in that regard against Oregon.
It took the Terps just four minutes to make more threes than they did in their last outing. Juniors Rice (19 points) Gillespie (16) and Selton Miguel (9) all knocked down threes to kick off the scoring in the first half.
Maryland finished the game 9 of 21 from deep (42.9 percent). Although they were efficient, the Terps took some questionable 3-point shots late that Oregon could live with at the end of the game.
“I feel like we got our rhythm back offensively,” Willard said. “I thought we really struggled against Washington. I thought tonight our pace was much better. … We just have to get back and spend three days of good practice at College Park and get our defense back to where it needs to be.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics