Terps Lose Heartbreaker to Syracuse
Maryland dropped their second game of the season last night, 72-70 to Syracuse in the Big Ten / ACC Challenge. It was a close ball game all the way through, but Maryland couldn’t finish the job. Tough loss, but not a bad loss in any means.
Maryland was trailing by two, until back-to-back turnovers pushed Syracuse’s lead to four from the charity stripe. Kevin Huerter then banged home an absolute bomb from 30+ feet to bring Maryland within one. On the Cuse inbound, the Terps basketball team looked like the football team out there, as they got beat deep for the wide open dunk. Basically put the nail in the coffin.
Huerter shined in the game, going 7-9 from deep, scoring 23 points. Bruno Fernando had another solid game, even against late foul trouble, scoring 13. Anthony Cowan Jr. didn’t shoot extremely well from the field exactly, but still managed to add on 11.
Maryland lost the game yes. No loss is good, but this was not a ‘bad’ loss. Syracuse is a tough squad, the Carrier Dome is a rough place to play for opponents, and Maryland exceeded expectations. The Terps turned it over 18 times, which is a problem that must be fixed soon, but still managed to battle the zone and keep it close all the way through. Maryland, with an exception of turnovers once again, showed how good of shooters they are, and how physical Fernando is down low.
Maryland is still 6-2 on the year. Losses to two potential NCAA Tournament teams. There are things the Terrapins need to fix, but there is more than plenty of time to fix them.
Maryland gets set to host Purdue on Friday, December 1st at 7pm. It’s an early start to Big Ten play for Maryland, as a trip to Illinois follows. Maryland turns it over a lot, forces bad shots at times, and has issues with foul trouble. Those things will get fixed, and once they do, Maryland has the ability to shock teams in March.
