COLLEGE PARK — The vibe around the Maryland men's basketball team is much different these days, and it's as easy to pinpoint after the Terps' first blowout loss of the season as after the 17 wins that preceded it.
Two days after suffering their worst loss of the season, the Terps already had put Thursday's 89-70 defeat at No. 23 Indiana behind them and were deep into their preparation for Sunday's home game against Northwestern (10-9, 1-5 Big Ten Conference).
It helps when No. 13 Maryland (17-3, 5-2) is considered a virtual lock to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in Turgeon's four seasons. It also helps when the Hoosiers hit 60 percent of their shots and 15 of 22 of their 3-pointers against what Turgeon considered not-terrible defense.
"I felt like Indiana was terrific, so we left it in the locker room," he said Saturday after practice. "We didn't watch film with the team of [the game against] Indiana. What I wanted to see was how many shots were contested. They made 15 3s, and I felt like 12 of them were pretty close to contested."
Said senior forward Evan Smotrycz: "I said after the game, they could have beat anybody that night. They played really well. … It's never easy to come back after a loss, but we haven't been down in too many games this year, so it was kind of a different situation for us. Hopefully, we don't put ourselves in that situation again."
What also might help is that, from a defensive standpoint, going from Indiana to Northwestern isn't much of an adjustment. The Wildcats run a similar motion offense, though under second-year coach Chris Collins, a former Duke assistant and player, they're more structured than the Hoosiers.
"We know they've been in all their games. Even the games that they lost, it's been really tight, so we're going to have to play hard for 40 minutes," Smotrycz said. "They've got some guys who can really shoot it. We're going to have to know personnel, so we don't get confused out there and give up things that we shouldn't."
Considering its coach's pedigree, Northwestern's reliance on 3-pointers isn't surprising. But except for making 12 of 25 shots from beyond the arc in an overtime loss at Michigan State on Jan. 11, the Wildcats have not shot the ball particularly well. Yet their only blowout loss in the league was to No. 6 Wisconsin.
"They're a team that can spread you. They run a ton of sets. We're going to be challenged, so we have to be a little more focused and a little better defensively than we were the other night," said Turgeon, whose Terps shot 27-for-53 from the field at Assembly Hall.
If anything, Turgeon is more concerned with the mindset of his team going into a home game against an opponent sitting near the bottom of the league standings. As well as the Terps played in their last home game, a 16-point win over Michigan State last Saturday, they were somewhat lucky to beat Rutgers at home three days before.
"There's no easy games in the Big Ten this year. There's not one game you can show up and play bad and still win. That's not happening this year," Turgeon said. "It's a big challenge for us."
Note: The Terps will wear special gray sneakers Sunday to raise awareness for brain cancer and honor former team manager Zach Lederer. The Centennial graduate, 20, died in March after a battle with brain cancer.
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