Maryland men’s basketball will not have its NCAA tournament bolstered by a quality win against an out-of-conference foe from a power conference this season.
With the Terps’ losses to Virginia and now Seton Hall, Maryland is 0-2 against the other five power conferences in college basketball. It’s the first time in Mark Turgeon’s tenure that the Terps have gone winless against schools from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC in his now eighth year in charge of the Terrapins. Let’s go year-by-year to see how the Terps fared against their out-of-conference foes in the Turgeon era.
2011-12 (2-2)
Alabama — 62-42 loss (N), Colorado — 78-71 win (N), Illinois — 71-62 loss (H), Notre Dame — 78-71 win (N)
Year one of the Turgeon era began with Maryland challenging itself four times away from conference play, emerging with a .500 record. Maryland’s win over Notre Dame at what is now the Capital One Arena wound up being a very solid victory, as the Fighting Irish finished 13-5 in the Big East and reached the NCAA tournament as a No. 7 seed.
2012-13 (1-1)
Kentucky — 72-69 loss (N), Northwestern — 77-57 win (A)
Maryland wasted no time jumping into out-of-conference play during Alex Len’s sophomore year, as the Terps’ first game came against Kentucky in the Barclays Center. At the time, a three-point loss to the Wildcats was a sign of Maryland’s quality that they could hang with a team as talented as Kentucky. However, Kentucky wound up missing the NCAA tournament and infamously lost to Robert Morris in the NIT.
Maryland also handily beat Northwestern in Evanston when they were on the other side of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Terps are still yet to lose to Northwestern in Evanston as a member of either conference under Turgeon, so there’s that at least.
2013-14 (1-3)
UConn — 78-77 loss (N), Oregon State — 90-83 loss (H), Providence — 56-52 win (N), Ohio State — 76-60 loss (A)
Maryland once again started its season with a loss to a traditional power in Brooklyn during the 2013-14 season, losing a squeaker to a UConn team that would become eventual national champions. While the loss to UConn was harmless, a home loss to an Oregon State that failed to make the NCAA tournament and finished under .500 in the Pac-12 was less than ideal.
The Terps were able to at least look back on their win over Providence on a neutral court with positivity, as the Friars won the Big East tournament, which meant Maryland had an out-of-conference win over an NCAA tournament team that season.
2014-15 (3-1)
Arizona State — 78-73 win (N), Iowa State — 72-63 win (N), Virginia — 76-65 loss (H), Oklahoma State — 73-64 win (A)
I think it’s fair to say this is the best season Maryland’s had when it comes to out-of-conference opponents, highlighted by the Terps’ win over Iowa State in Kansas City. Iowa State went on to win the Big 12 tournament and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. Maryland beat them in what might as well have been a road game given that Kansas City is much closer to Ames, Iowa than it is to College Park.
While Maryland lost to Virginia in its first Big Ten/ACC Challenge representing its new conference, a road win over another NCAA tournament team in Oklahoma State solidified a pair of pretty decent wins for the Terps outside of the Big Ten.
2015-16 (2-1)
Georgetown — 75-71 win (H), North Carolina — 89-81 loss (A), UConn — 76-66 win (N)
The 2015-16 out-of-conference slate was definitely the most hyped of the Mark Turgeon. Maryland got to host Georgetown for the first time since 1973 and Maryland’s return to the Dean Dome was one of the most interesting games on that year’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge slate. Maryland wound up splitting those games, narrowly topping the Hoyas but losing to the Tar Heels in a clash of top-ten opponents. If Maryland was able to win in Chapel Hill, the Terps would’ve almost surely achieved their first-ever No. 1 ranking in the AP poll.
Maryland also beat UConn, a school that isn’t currently in a power conference but carries more prestige as a member of the American Athletic Conference than other members of the conference like Tulsa or Eastern Carolina, so we’ll count them here.
2016-2017 (3-1)
Georgetown — 76-75 win (A), Kansas State — 69-68 win (N), Pitt — 73-59 loss (H), Oklahoma State — 71-70 win (H)
For the second time in three seasons, Maryland was able to win a trio of out-of-conference games against other schools from power conferences, highlighted by its thrilling comeback at the Capital One Arena that was topped off by a Kevin Huerter block in the dying seconds of the victory.
However, Maryland’s one loss was especially dreadful, getting handily beaten at home by a Pitt team that failed to make the NCAA tournament, finishing 4-14 in the ACC. I really want to hammer home how bad this Pitt was that season: they lost to a Duquesne team that finished the season ranked 224th on Kenpom and lost a home game by 55 points.
2017-2018 (1-1)
Butler — 79-65 win (H), Syracuse — 72-70 loss (A)
For the first time since 2012-13, Maryland only played two games against other power conference foes, splitting the meetings 1-1. A comfortable win over Butler showed what Maryland was capable of before Justin Jackson was injured, enjoying a 14-point win over a school that made the NCAA tournament round of 32.
However, Maryland didn’t enjoy its trip to the Carrier Dome, as Kevin Huerter’s great shooting display still wasn’t quite enough to knock off the Orange.
2018-19 (0-2)
Virginia — 76-71 loss (H), Seton Hall — 78-74 loss (H)
You probably don’t need a recap of these games since they just happened this season, but Maryland lost both of them and for the first time under Mark Turgeon, they’ll be winless against the best teams they play in out-of-conference play.
So, what did we learn from this?
Overall, Maryland’s been 13-12 in its eight seasons under Turgeon, good for a .520 winning percentage. Maryland’s out-of-conference slate has also gotten a boost from the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, where they’ve had multiple chances against top 25 opponents like Virginia this season, North Carolina in 2015-16 and Virginia again back in 2014-15.
The Terps have had a few clunkers like their home losses to Oregon State and especially Pitt, but also a few wins to hang their hat on, with the win over Iowa State in a hardly neutral Kansas City being the most impressive one.
Maryland’s lack of a solid out-of-conference win this season could hurt their NCAA tournament hopes, but ultimately, it’s the first time Turgeon has ever come away from a season without beating at least one team from another power conference.
