COLLEGE PARK — The Maryland men's basketball team is in the midst of a breakout season, but — as they say in those irritating Geico commercials — everybody knows that.
The only question coming into Saturday's rematch against Michigan State was how good the Terps can be and when they were going to bring all the strong elements of this year's team together in a dominating performance against a high-caliber opponent.
Though the Terps arrived at the Xfinity Center with a 16-2 record and had recorded a signature victory against No. 11 Iowa State and a big road win at Oklahoma State during the nonconference run-up to their first Big Ten season, there were a lot more games in which they depended on defense and great foul shooting to hold off opponents while they were waiting for their shots to fall.
Not on this upbeat afternoon, which included an opportunity for the first sellout crowd of the season to pay homage to Hall of Fame former coach Gary Williams and watch the Terps dissect a Michigan State team that had bounced back with three straight conference victories after suffering a heartbreaking double-overtime loss to Maryland in East Lansing, Mich., on Dec. 30.
"That's what I've been waiting for,'' coach Mark Turgeon said after Maryland's 75-59 win. "I don't think we've played our best basketball recently, and our guys kept up today and really played well."
We knew they were good, but it certainly looked over the past couple of weeks like they were feeling the weight of the heightened expectations they had built for themselves and, maybe, feeling their legs as they passed the halfway point in their regular-season schedule.
Turgeon acknowledged after the game that his team seemed to be playing tight in Wednesday night's too-close-for-comfort home victory over Rutgers. He sent them onto the floor Saturday under orders to have more fun.
They certainly looked more relaxed, but that might have had something to do with the great shooting performance of super-freshman Melo Trimble and a dynamic double double from junior forward Jake Layman, who scored 23 points and was a wild man on the boards (12 rebounds).
"I think we haven't played well in our past four or five games," Layman said. "So, this game right here is really going to boost our confidence going forward. For down the road, we're looking to keep it going."
Trimble seemed to have an answer for just about anything the Spartans had to offer on a day when they were looking to avenge a frustrating home loss. He poured in six 3-pointers and finished with 24 points — only two of them from the foul line — which prompted high praise from Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and a word of warning.
"I'm not sure he's that good a 3-point shooter," Izzo said, "but if he is, you'd better hope he's not, but if he is…"
Izzo stopped short of saying what everyone was thinking after Trimble put on that show in front of the biggest home crowd of the year and a large contingent of NBA scouts. Terps fans are just getting to know this kid and no one wants to consider the possibility that he might outplay his stay in College Park.
That's a concern for another year — and hopefully more than that. The young Terps are on a terrific roll and they showed Saturday that they are growing up with every game.
Turgeon stopped short of calling the 75-59 win his team's most dominating performance of the season, but he clearly enjoyed the way his players responded to the big-time atmosphere and said that the most important thing about the victory was the way the Terps performed in front of the home crowd.
"We're getting better," he said. "I keep telling you guys, this team is going to get better. Today was a step in the right direction. I think people are excited, and they should be. They have a team that plays hard, plays together and tries to do the right things. I just don't want anybody telling my guys they're good."
Read more from columnist Peter Schmuck on his blog, "The Schmuck Stops Here," at baltimoresun.com/schmuckblog.