Michigan State couldn’t do it. Purdue couldn’t do it. Nebraska couldn’t do it. Michigan State got another opportunity, but they still couldn’t do it. Neither could Michigan nor Rutgers. Purdue’s second shot failed.

Since the start of Big Ten play, Iowa had taken the floor seven times for league games. Seven times, their opponents had fallen, providing the foundation for the Hawkeyes’ surprising surge to the No. 3 ranking in college basketball.

At 9:30 Thursday night, once the hoopla had subsided, Terrapins men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon strode into the Xfinity Center press room with a slight grin. “Big game, huh?” he said.

Before a ballistic sellout crowd, the Terps did what no other team had been able to do. They slew the unlikely beast, putting the first dent in No. 3 Iowa’s sterling conference campaign with a 74-68 victory.

The Terps got their signature win.

Turgeon tried to downplay it, suggesting that the Terps’ home-court advantage provided the difference. Perhaps he’s right.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery tried to downplay it, too. He suggested that his Hawkeyes hadn’t played up to their potential, but somehow found a way to still be competitive. Perhaps he’s right.

But facts are facts. For the first time since Dec. 10, Iowa had lost.

Players and coaches can try to mitigate people’s expectations all they want. It’s their job to keep things under control. And yes, it’s only January, not March.

That shouldn’t take away from what the Terps did Thursday night. They beat a team that for more than a month looked unbeatable. That’s worth something.

Here are my postgame grades:

Guard Melo Trimble: C+

Trimble finished with 11 points, but that’s a bit deceiving, as five of his points came from the charity stripe in the final 17 seconds with the game all but decided. He didn’t do much in terms of facilitating, either, contributing just three assists.

Guard Rasheed Sulaimon: A-

Sulaimon had been far from an offensive staple in recent games, scoring two and eight points against Northwestern and Michigan State, respectively. It was a different story Thursday. Sulaimon was aggressive and effective throughout the game. With 5:11 remaining, center Diamond Stone greeted him with a friendly head-butt after Sulaimon finished a nifty layup to put the Teps up 59-56. He finished with 17 points, four rebounds and five assists.

Forward Jake Layman: B+

It’s kind of hard to believe Layman was known primarily as a 3-point shooter his freshman year. He was 1-for-8 from behind the arc against Iowa but received a high mark for his shutdown defense of star forward Jarrod Uthoff. Layman spent much of the game guarding Uthoff, who entered the game averaging 18.9 points per game but finished 2-for-13 from the floor. Layman also added two blocks and a steal.

Forward Robert Carter Jr.: A-

Carter was irate after fouling out late in the game — he shouted and flailed his arms — but made valuable contributions before his departure. He went an efficient 7-for-11 with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Center Diamond Stone: B-

Stone started for the first time since Jan. 6, but his production wasn’t impressive. He picked up two fouls in the first half, which earned him some time on the bench. He contributed nine points and brought down four rebounds.