Maryland men’s basketball dropped its conference opener at Iowa, 83-64, on Dec. 6.
The contest marks Maryland’s third lopsided loss in four games. The Terrapins (6-4 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) will look to bounce back when they host Michigan in their conference home opener at 8 p.m. on Dec. 13.
Iowa came out firing, while Maryland struggled to find a rhythm early. Senior forward Pharrel Payne was the lone bright spot for the Terrapins in the first half, scoring 12 points. He finished with a team-high 17 points and 13 rebounds.
The Hawkeyes, meanwhile, were red-hot to start the game. Iowa went on a 17-2 run to build a 28-11 lead, shooting 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. During that stretch, Maryland shot just 4-for-11 and committed four turnovers.
Iowa closed the half shooting 8-for-13 from 3-point range. Guard Bennett Stirtz hit three triples, while forward Cooper Koch added three of his own. The Hawkeyes are led by former Drake coach Ben McCollum, who brought much of last year’s NCAA Tournament Bulldogs team to Iowa City.
“Really tough team, incredibly well-coached,” Maryland head coach Buzz Williams said. “I think since all of those coaches and players have been together, they’ve lost five Division I games. They for sure started the game really well. I thought they started the second half just as well.”
Maryland showed some fight late in the first half. Back-to-back threes from forwards Solomon Washington and Elijah Saunders sparked a 7-0 run, trimming Iowa’s lead to 33-22. But the Hawkeyes kept the Terrapins at bay, never allowing the margin to dip below double digits.
Turnovers were a major issue for Maryland, which committed nine in the first half, leading to 11 Iowa points. Things didn’t improve after the break. While Maryland managed to cut Iowa’s lead to 10 in the first half, the Hawkeyes steadily pulled away in the second.
Iowa built its largest lead of 26 points with 9:39 remaining, going up 67-41. Stirtz stayed hot, finishing with a game-high 25 points, including four 3-pointers on eight attempts.
Maryland’s turnover woes continued throughout the game. The Terrapins finished with 18 giveaways, leading to 21 Iowa points and 12 steals.
“We did not play as hard or as together as we have to,” Williams said. “We’ve made considerable progress in lessons learned this week. 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 that we’re going to continue to play.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics