The Terps have let their opponent pull away in the closing minutes of all three road contests this year.
Maryland men’s basketball has followed a similar script in each of its first three road games.
First, the Terps led then-No. 8 Purdue by five points with 7:57 remaining. Then, they went cold, enduring a six-minute stretch where they shot 2-of-9 from the field and turned the ball over twice. When the dust settled, Maryland had just two minutes to erase a now 10-point deficit — which it didn’t, falling 83-78.
Nearly a month later, Maryland was in the same situation against Washington. It overcame lackluster showings from Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Derik Queen to lead by eight points with 14:51 left in the game. But the Terps failed to make a single 3-pointer in the second half and closed the game on a 7-of-13 stretch from the free-throw line. Washington pulled ahead and stole a victory, 75-69.
Three days later, the Terps led then-No. 9 Oregon with less than four minutes to go before firing off a 1-of-9 shooting stretch to end the outing with an 83-79 loss.
The pattern is clear. Maryland was not only competitive in all three games, but they led, and comfortably so. Two of those matchups were against ranked opponents. But for one reason or another, head coach Kevin Willard’s squad can’t seem to close the game on the road.
Shooting has not been the only issue plaguing the Terps. The Boilermakers’ two-headed monster of Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn took over down the stretch in their win over Maryland. Mackey Arena’s unforgiving environment proved to be a challenge for Maryland on defense — especially for Queen, who was playing in his first-career road game.
“Derek’s just not used to playing in this atmosphere, and playing as we try to make an adjustment,” Willard said after the loss to Purdue.
Both Gillespie and Julian Reese fouled out against the Huskies, leaving Maryland shorthanded on defense down the stretch. Washington took advantage, closing out the second half making nine of its final 13 field goal attempts. The Terps put together a valiant comeback effort against the Ducks, but they couldn’t sustain it long enough to win.
Rebounding was also an issue late in games, as Willard has repeatedly emphasized in postgame press conferences. The Terps have been outrebounded in the second half in all three road contests, a combined 53-38.
“Purdue really hurt us with the second shots,” Willard said after the loss to Washington. “You gotta reward yourself for playing good defense and forcing bad shots. And we haven’t done that yet.”
Struggles away from Xfinity Center are nothing new for the Terps in Willard’s tenure. They’re now a staggering 1-13 in road games decided by eight points or less under Willard. They were a combined 6-17 on the road and 5-6 in neutral site games between 2022-23 and 2023-24.
The issues seem to be improving, though. Going toe-to-toe with Purdue and Oregon on their respective home courts is nothing to scoff at, and Maryland stacked gritty neutral-venue wins over Villanova and Syracuse. As Queen and other newcomers get more comfortable in road atmospheres, Maryland’s defense should hold up longer than it has in its first three conference games.
Winning on the road in the Big Ten is hard, even the country’s best teams don’t do so consistently. Maryland hasn’t had a winning road record since 2018-19. But in order for Willard and the Terps to become Big Ten championship contender, closing out games away from home can’t continue to be an Achilles heel.