There was no need to look at the stat sheet Sunday afternoon at Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Maryland forward Jake Layman knew how poorly he played in a 71-55 loss to the Hawkeyes.
Layman, who had scored in double figures in Maryland's first 13 games, 19 of its first 20 and 21 of 24 this season, tied his season-low with four points, taking just four shots after missing an early 3-pointer.
At one juncture the second-leading rebounder in Big Ten games, Layman set his season-low with two. After getting into some foul trouble, Layman didn't score until there were less than five minutes left in the start-to-finish blowout.
Asked why he started the game so slowly, taking just one shot in the first half, Layman said: "I don't know, maybe I'm just trying to play within the offense. It's not something I can point out right now, I have to go back and watch the film and see if I can find my spots on the floor better."
A Monday film session with Terps coach Mark Turgeon provided some answers for the 6-foot-9, 210-pound junior, who hopes to make a much more significant contribution when No. 19 Maryland (19-5, 7-4) hosts Indiana (17-7, 7-4) on Wednesday at Xfinity Center.
Layman started the game in Iowa City at small forward, the position he played his first two seasons before being moved to power forward when senior Evan Smotrycz broke his foot in the preseason. It wouldn't be a shock to see Layman moved back inside against the Hoosiers.
The change of position to a power forward who can stretch defenses with his perimeter shooting seemed to be a revelation for Layman, who became more assertive and did a good job of taking advantage of his length and jumping ability to win a majority of his individual matchups.
It resulted in Layman posting career-highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds on the road against Oklahoma State's Le'Bryan Nash and setting a new career-high with 23 points with 12 rebounds against Michigan State's Branden Dawsen last month.
Layman, who is averaging 13.5 points (10.9 in Big Ten games) and a team-high 6.7 rebounds (7.4 in Big Ten games), doesn't think it should make a difference where he is used on the court.
"To me, it shouldn't matter, I need to do a better job of getting to my spots more where I know I'm comfortable and I know I can score the ball," Layman said Tuesday before practice.
One of those spots needs to be near the basket, to put Layman in position to get fouled.
During a three-game stretch against Purdue, Rutgers and Michigan State -- all victories for the Terps -- Layman went to the line 30 times, hitting 25. In the last five games, Layman has hit all his free throws -- a total of three.
There are times when it looks as if Layman is reverting back to his first two years and deferring the scoring role to others, in this case freshman guard Melo Trimble or senior guard Dez Wells.
"I thought he was real aggressive [against Penn State], he got 12 shots up," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said about Layman before the Iowa game. "He got to the rim four times, he just didn't finish. Sometimes the ball bounces in, sometimes the ball bounces out.
"Sometimes you get every call, sometime you don't. Jake hasn't been to the line the last three games, but he's trying to get to the line. That's really what's important. But we do have to recognize those situations [where Layman has an advantage] better … and recognize that quicker."