The Terrapins men’s basketball team was supposed to run a post play on the first possession of Saturday’s matchup against Michigan State.
But forward Jake Layman, who struggled for position on the interior, never touched the ball.
The possession ended with guard Melo Trimble missing a 3-pointer, the first of three misfires from deep to start the contest. Instead of attacking the rim, the Terps settled for jump shots early against the Spartans, coach Mark Turgeon said yesterday.
That passive mindset has been a problem for the Terps as of late. A team that lived on the foul line last year — nearly 25 percent of its points came on free throws — is struggling to get there this season, with three fewer free-throw attempts per game this season. So heading into the No. 8 Terps’ high-profile matchup against No. 3 Iowa today, the Terps want to attack the basket more.
“We have shot too many jump shots,” Turgeon said. “It’s something we’re continuing to work on.”
Trimble was at the center of the Terps’ free-throw frenzy last season. He ranked seventh in the nation with 240 attempted free throws, averaging nearly seven per game.
This season, he isn’t even first on the team. After Trimble made 5.9 free throws a game last year, he’s averaging two fewer free-throw attempts per game this season (3.9).
“The league is doing a better job of defending him,” Turgeon said before the Northwestern game on Jan. 19. “I do think he’ll keep driving. … Melo will keep being Melo.”
While Trimble admitted yesterday he was frustrated with his inability to get to the line this season, he said free-throw shooting isn’t his singular focus.
“Getting to the free-throw line is going to come with me being aggressive and hopefully just us being aggressive on the offensive end,” Trimble said.
The Terps’ inability to get to the charity stripe has come with referees providing more leeway for defenders to guard without fouling in the paint. Still, the Terps have maintained their dip in free-throw shooting has come from passive play.
After a 70-67 loss to Michigan on Jan. 12, freshman center Diamond Stone said the Terps needed to be more aggressive. Stone leads the Terps with 4.5 free-throw attempts per game and set a program record with 25 attempts in a 70-64 win over Penn State on Dec. 30.
This season, less than 20 percent of the Terps’ points have come at the line, which ranks 227th in the nation, according to kenpom.com. The Terps’ 24.7 percent mark last season was 18th in the nation.
While the Terps are more than halfway through the regular season, there’s time for them to work out their free-throw shooting kinks, starting today against the Hawkeyes.
“We’ve settled a little bit too much here and there,” Layman said. “So I think staying aggressive and trying to get to the rim whenever we can is going to be big for us, especially early in games.”
