The Maryland men’s basketball team dropped its second consecutive game on Dec. 11, falling 56-53 to No. 7 Tennessee in Brooklyn, N.Y., after getting off to another slow start.
Maryland (8-2, 1-1 Big Ten) will now try to continue its undefeated streak at home when it takes on No. 19 UCLA on Dec. 14 at 9 p.m.
Led by senior guard Jahmir Young (18 points), Maryland had two chances to tie the game late but came up short. The Terps went on a 12-0 run in the second half to pull within single digits of Tennessee for the first time since the game was 17-8 in the first half. The Volunteers led, 34-17, at the half.
“I think these guys have shown that they’re a tough group,” Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said. “They’re resilient. They’re an unselfish group. … I’m proud of how they’re playing and where we are and what we’ve gotten to. I just need to get back into the practice gym and be able to practice a little bit.”
However, Young missed those two chances to tie the game in the waning moments. He missed a floater to tie the game at 55 with about 11 seconds left and a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 56. Both chances came after the Volunteers missed free throws, opening the door for the Terps.
Young hit a game-clinching three in the 71-66 win against Illinois on Dec. 2.
“I was just trying to get a good shot for our team to win,” Young said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t fall. I wasn’t really thinking about the last one.”
Maryland got off to a slow start against Tennessee, much like it did during its 64-59 loss to Wisconsin on Dec. 6. The Terps shot 3-for-24 (13 percent) from the field in the first half. They fell behind by as many as 21 in the half and at one point went eight-plus minutes without a field goal. They also had 10 first-half turnovers, leading to 12 Tennessee points.
Maryland shot better in the second half (14-for-28), but its 3-point shooting was an issue for the entire game. The Terps shot 8 percent from three (2-for-24) and made no 3-pointers in the second half.
“We have to win the 3-point battle,” Willard said. “We’ve lost the 3-point battle the last two games. [That] is why we lost the games. We have to win the 3-point battle. We’re just not going to out-physicality everyone. It’s just not the way we’re built.”
No other Maryland player finished in double-digit scoring aside from Young. In addition, the Tennessee bench provided productive minutes for head coach Rick Barnes, finishing with 24 total points compared to Maryland’s six.
Maryland also got beat on offensive rebounds, leading to easy points for Tennessee. The Volunteers finished with 21 offensive rebounds and 13 second-chance points. Maryland only managed eight offensive rebounds and nine points.
“I don’t think we dealt with it very well. We gave up 21 offensive rebounds,” Willard said of dealing with Tennessee’s physicality. “We knew how big they were and how athletic they were, but we just kind of let them push us around a little bit too much.”
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