WASHINGTON - Getting beat in overtime on the road against a top 10 team after playing well for long periods is one thing. Getting slapped all day in your own back yard by an up-and-coming program paints a much more disturbing picture for defending national champions.
The ninth-ranked Maryland Terrapins had lots to think about last night after unranked Notre Dame set the tone with its matchup zone defense and three-point shooting, controlled Maryland inside and made the Terps shoot with futility in the first round of the BB&T; Classic.
But what left the Terps so discouraged in the wake of a 79-67 loss to the Fighting Irish before 15,778 at MCI Center was the lack of urgency and composure in Maryland's step.
On a day when ex-Terp Dan Miller returned to face his old teammates in a Notre Dame uniform, a day when Maryland freshman Nik Caner-Medley got the first start of his career, and just four days after suffering a heartbreaking 80-74 loss at No. 10 Indiana, the Terps were too slow, too impatient, too flat.
Maryland (3-2), which will face George Washington in today's consolation game, produced a dud in numerous ways.
Its offense got flustered early in the face of Notre Dame's zone and never recovered. The Terps were beaten to many loose balls and failed too often to hustle down the floor on defense. Their big men were outclassed in the paint. They trailed for the game's final 26 minutes and never got closer than seven points in the final 18 minutes.
All of which left a bitter taste in the locker room, beginning with senior guard Drew Nicholas.
"If I had a concrete answer, we could go and fix it quickly. I don't know what's wrong. We just got outworked," said Nicholas, who scored 11 points and shot 2-for-8.
"It seems like guys are taking it for granted, like we're just going to come out and win games. We're defending champions. Everyone we play this year is trying to beat us. It kills me."
After losing four starters from last year's NCAA title team, the Terps, who swallowed their first two-game losing streak since February 2001, figured to have days when their offense would be out of sync.
Yesterday, Maryland fell on its face with the ball, committing 14 turnovers and shooting 28.9 percent in the first half as the Fighting Irish (7-1) took a 35-25 halftime lead and were never threatened.
"We did not shoot well enough to make up for our inability to run our half-court offense," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "Sometimes when you're hot, you can get away with that. It takes a lot of effort to be a good defensive team, a lot of fire, emotion, things like that. We just didn't have that today, and Notre Dame did."
The Terps missed 13 of their first 16 shots and did not make a three-point attempt until their 12th try. Notre Dame, conversely, got warm early against the Terps' man-to-man alignment, starting with Miller, who transferred to Notre Dame after helping the Terps make their first Final Four during his third season in College Park.
Miller scored 17 points, made four of seven three-point shots, and grabbed seven rebounds in 38 steady minutes, but he was only one problem for Maryland. Freshman forward Torin Francis hurt the Terps all day inside, en route to a career-high 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
The backcourt of point guard Chris Thomas and Matt Carroll also took it to Maryland. Thomas broke down the defense in the half-court set and on the fast break while scoring 10 points and dishing out a game-high nine assists. Carroll scored 19 points.
Not even an awakening by struggling senior Tahj Holden (13 points, eight rebounds) or a solid effort from Caner-Medley (eight points, seven rebounds, four steals) could get the Terps moving. Their interior offense stalled repeatedly, as senior center Ryan Randle (six points) settled for too many fadeaway jumpers. Although he led Maryland with 10 rebounds, he shot 3-for-13 and did not go to the free-throw line.
That left the Maryland backcourt to force many more shots. Senior point guard Steve Blake (team-high 15 points) went 5-for-17.
"We wanted to see jump shots go in before we made any adjustments," said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey, whose team was coming off a 21-point win over Marquette and will likely soon be ranked. After the teams traded leads throughout the middle of the first half, the Irish went ahead 22-20 on a three-point play by Francis, who then took over the paint. By the time Francis had scored the next three Notre Dame baskets to complete a 9-0 run, Maryland was trailing 28-20 with 3:20 left in the half and had made only nine of 34 shots.
Williams pointed a finger at his seniors to lead a proper response by the Terps today.
"When you're a veteran player, you take that responsibility of making your team play well," he said. "We didn't get that today from our veteran players."
BB&T; today
What: BB&T; Classic
Site:MCI Center, Washington
Consolation game
Teams: No. 9 Maryland vs. George Washington
Time:1 p.m.
TV/Radio:Ch. 54/WBAL (1090 AM)
Championship game
Teams: No. 2 Texas vs. Notre Dame
Time:3:30 p.m.
TV:Ch. 54