COLLEGE PARK — A day that began with massive buzz around the Maryland men’s basketball program fizzled out by night’s end.
College Park hosted ESPN’s “College GameDay” for the first time since 2005, the 2004 ACC Championship team was honored, but the ninth-ranked Terps couldn’t pull off another double-digit comeback, falling to No. 24 Michigan State, 78-66, on Saturday night.
The Terps lost at Xfinity Center for the first time this season — they had entered the game 15-0 at home — and missed an opportunity to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season title for the first time since joining the conference in 2014.
Senior guard Cassius Winston led the Spartans with 20 points on 5-of-6 shooting on 3-pointers. The Spartans, winners of three straight since blowing a late lead at home to the Terps on Feb. 15, shot 47.5% from the field and made 12 of their 28 3-point attempts.
Maryland shot 42% from the field and made just six of its 20 3-point attempts (30%).
“Michigan State was terrific,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. “That was a different team than we played in East Lansing. We were a different team that played in East Lansing. I think a lot of credit goes to them. ... They were running their offense at a high level the first 12 minutes of the game, and we could hardly catch up with them.”
Michigan State went on a 9-0 run to begin the game, forcing Turgeon to call a timeout. The Spartans made their first three 3-point attempts, which has been a recurring theme for Maryland in its most recent deficits.
The Terps got down by as many as 12 early in the first half but responded with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to single digits. Sophomore forward Ricky Lindo hit a 3-pointer, his first since Jan. 26 at Indiana, to tie the game at 23, but the Spartans responded with their own 7-0 run.
A buzzer-beater from beyond halfcourt by Winston gave Michigan State its seventh 3-pointer of the half and a 40-29 lead at halftime.
In the second half, the Spartans pushed their lead to as many as 18, making their first seven shot attempts.
An 8-0 run by the Terps cut the deficit to nine points in a game that began to get chippy. Jalen Smith and Marcus Bingham Jr. were assessed double technicals after fighting for position down low and coming nose-to-nose with each other.
Michigan State responded with a personal 5-0 run by freshman guard Rocket Watts to push the lead back to 14. Maryland would bring the lead back down to 10 but Michigan State went on another 5-0 run, including a four-point play by Winston, who was fouled by Smith on a made 3-pointer.
Multiple trips to the free-throw line aided Maryland’s comeback bid. The Terps made 12 of 18 free-throws in the second half, compared with two makes on three attempts in the first half.
A fastbreak layup by freshman guard Hakim Hart cut the lead to 10 with 2:41 remaining, but the Terps couldn’t capitalize off multiple Michigan State turnovers late.
Smith recorded his 19th double double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Anthony Cowan Jr. added 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting. Cowan also turned the ball over four times and missed all three of his 3-point attempts, extending his streak to 14 misses on 3′s, dating back to Feb. 18 against Northwestern.
“Everybody’s defending me the same,” Cowan said of his shooting slump. “[They are] trying to deny me, trying to face guard me. Won’t let me really cut. But everybody’s going to be guarding me like that. I’ve just got to figure it out.”
Turgeon said the team’s gameplan was the same as it was two weeks ago — when Maryland ended the game on a 14-0 run to leave Breslin Center with a seven-point win — but transition points and rebounding spoiled what started as an exciting, promising day for the basketball program and its fanbase. The Spartans outscored the Terps 13-10 on fastbreak points and 19-10 on second-chance points.
“We just could never really get control of the game,” Turgeon said of a night in which the Terps never held a lead and trailed for all of 57 seconds.
Smith said there was “no pressure” on the team given the hype surrounding the team and Saturday night’s matchup, but insinuated that he and his teammates may have let the magnitude of the moment seep into their play.
“I guess everybody just got too excited because of ‘College GameDay.’ I mean, it hasn’t been here in like 10 years, I think, or however long. We just let the game slip out of our hands and we dug a ditch for ourselves.”
NO. 9 MARYLAND@RUTGERS
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