Maryland basketball suffered their first loss of the season in a close-fought 78-74 loss to No. 15 Marquette.
Maryland and Marquette battled Friday night in what had all the makings of a second weekend NCAA Tournament game, but Marquette — led by Kam Jones’s 28 points — pulled away in the second half.
Both teams exchanged punches throughout the first half, and the Terps grabbed a bit of breathing room early into the second half thanks to a Derik Queen slam in transition. That six-point lead quickly evaporated as Marquette grabbed the lead with 12:43 remaining. The Terps regained the lead four minutes later, but Jones, who scored 18 of his 28 points in the second half, overwhelmed the Terps down the stretch.
Deshawn Harris-Smith had a chance to tie the game at the free-throw line with 15 seconds remaining. He missed both.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie set the bar high in his first true test. Terps fans — if you squint, you may see shades of iconic Terrapin guards Melo Trimble, Anthony Cowan, and Jahmir Young. Gillespie tied the team-high with 24 points on 10-17 from the field.
Derik Queen was as advertised with 24 points of his own. Let the first-round pick talks commence.
In addition to Jones’s 28, Stevie Mitchell added 18 points, scoring the final eight to put the nail in Maryland’s coffin.
Takeaway #1: Marquette’s cohesion prevails
The difference between these two squads is clear: cohesion.
The Golden Eagles never once crumbled at the hands of a Terps scoring run, and that is what you would expect from a team that returns seven core pieces from last year’s Sweet 16 team. Friday’s game was a prime example of why roster continuity is so crucial, especially early in the season. Everybody on the roster embraces their role to a tee, and it starts with the culture that Shaka Smart created.
The Terps roster does not have that same understanding or sense of togetherness yet. The product is raw; a group of guys who are still trying to gel as a unit.
The casual fan can point out many reasons as to why Maryland lost — Marquette winning the turnover battle, a 48-point-second-half barrage, and missed free throws down the stretch by the Terps were all contributors.
But it was the little moments where Marquette’s synergy came to fruition. With just over a minute to go, David Joplin launched a three from the corner. An airball. With Queen and Selton Miguel in proximity to grab the rebound, the 6’3 Stevie Mitchell — standing in the opposite corner — knifed his way in to snatch the ball and put it back in for two, all before the five Terps on the court could react.
At this moment, the writing is on the wall: Marquette is better at making winning plays down the stretch.
Takeaway #2: Maryland’s best lineup may be with one of the twin towers on the bench
The talk all offseason in College Park is how Queen and Julian Reese would fit together in the frontcourt. It appears the answer to that question is still a work in progress.
Against Marquette, Kevin Willard mixed and matched the two bigs in different lineups. When they were on the floor, the fit felt clunky, even forced at times. With Reese off the floor and Queen in, the Terps scored 13 points from the 11:35 mark to the 8:47 mark. It’s a small sample size, but sans Reese, Queen looks liberated offensively; the extra space to operate may be exactly what the big man needs.
With Reese on the bench and Rodney Rice in his place, the Terps are that much more dynamic offensively. Rice’s shooting (42.9% from 3) opens up the floor for Queen and Gillespie to get downhill to the basket.
It’s early — Willard will not give up on the two big lineups yet — but it will be interesting to see how he deploys Queen and Reese moving forward.
Takeaway #3: No reason to panic in College Park
Yes, Maryland missed out on a massive opportunity to boost their resume with its loss to Marquette.
But it can also be true that Friday’s performance showed that there is life in College Park again.
There are many moving pieces and expecting a flawless performance at this point in the season would be unreasonable. Willard will have his hands full, but there is potential in this year’s squad, something that could not be said last season.
Next up for Maryland (3-1): vs. Canisius (0-3) – Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.
Next up for Marquette (4-0): vs. Purdue (4-0) – Nov. 19 at 9 p.m.