Maryland men’s basketball lost at Nebraska, 74-61, on Feb. 25.
Redshirt freshman guard Andre Mills continued his late-season surge, leading the Terrapins with 19 points. Mills is averaging 17.4 points in his last 10 games.
Senior forward Elijah Saunders had a career night from beyond the arc, knocking down five 3-pointers.
Maryland (11-16, 4-12 Big Ten) remains winless against ranked opponents this season, with one final opportunity remaining in the regular-season finale. Before that, the Terrapins return home to face Rutgers on March 1 at noon.
Maryland finished the month of February 3-5 compared to an abysmal 1-6 January run.
“I do think that we played incredibly hard. I think we’ve had great growth in the month of February,” head coach Buzz Williams said. “So thankful for our staff and what an incredible job they’ve done preparing our guys.”
Both teams struggled offensively to open the game, but Maryland struck first, building an early 6-0 lead. The Terrapins opened 2 of 7 from the field, while Nebraska missed its first six shots.
The Huskers finally got on the board and the crowd — which stands until the first basket — was able to sit down at the 14-minute mark, sparking a 7-0 run that gave them a 7-6 lead.
Maryland shot 35 percent (9 of 26) in the first half, while Nebraska connected on 10 of 24 attempts. The cold shooting on both sides kept either team from pulling away.
Nebraska briefly pushed its lead to seven with under two minutes remaining, taking a 31-24 advantage before heading into the locker room up, 33-27.
Senior forward Solomon Washington led Maryland in the first half with 11 points.
Maryland responded quickly to start the second half, opening with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 39. The teams traded baskets throughout the period, tying the score three times.
The final tie came at 48 with just under 10 minutes remaining. From there, Nebraska seized control with a decisive 16-3 run, extending its lead to 61-51 with 5:35 left.
That surge proved to be the difference, as the Huskers pulled away in the closing minutes, building a game-high 15-point lead in the waning moments en route to securing the victory.
Nebraska dominated at the free-throw line and forced Maryland to turn the ball over more than the Terps could handle.
The Huskers shot 18 of 24 from the charity stripe. The Terrapins only managed to get to the line eight times, making all but one of their attempts. Nebraska also scored 11 points off of the visitors’ 11 mistakes. Maryland on the other hand only could three points off of Nebraska six turnovers.
“Their defense is ranked dramatically higher than their offense,” Williams said. “I thought we had too many turnovers, even though it was a semi-low turnover rate for our team. It’s just hard when you play a top-10 team on the road. If you don’t shoot as many balls and you don’t shoot as many free throws, it’s just difficult math to overcome.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics