Terrapins men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon knew this would be the end of it. He was sure.

His No. 10 Terps’ recent struggles had an easy fix, he insisted: Don’t turn the ball over. So during his team’s five-day layoff this past week, he made sure to drill that into his players’ heads — and their legs.

Each time a Terp committed a turnover during practice, they’d drop everything and head to the Xfinity Center seats.

Then they’d run, up and down, up and down, until they felt the pain of turning the ball over.

It was warranted. The team committed 15 turnovers in a horrendous loss to Minnesota, 18 in a desperate win over Michigan three days later.

The message seemed to stick, as the Terps coughed up just six giveaways at Purdue on Saturday. Yet they played catch-up the majority of the game, looking lost on the glass and lacking rhythm on offense at times.

But in the final five minutes, the Terps flipped the script, cutting a nine-point deficit to one. And they did it on defense, causing six turnovers over the stretch, as though making up for their silly mishaps of late with some pesky defense of their own.

Whatever satisfaction Turned gleaned from reversing the turnover problem, though, was undoubtedly overshadowed by the return of another: defensive rebounding.

The Terps allowed Purdue to grab 19 offensive rebounds, one of which came with 38 seconds left after Boilermakers guard Dakota Mathias missed a 3-pointer and the Terps trailed 79-77.

Purdue buried two free throws and minutes later was celebrating the win. Throughout College Park, scores of college students undoubtedly diverted their attention from their televisions in favor of awkwardly looking down at their cellphones.

The Terps, who started the season ranked No. 3 in the country, had lost again.

Here are my postgame grades:

Guard Melo Trimble: C+

Trimble is not back. Far from it. He shot 4-for-12 from the floor, including five misses from long range. Shooting 9 of 10 from the line is great, and he had five assists, including one that resulted in a powerful dunk for center Diamond Stone that cut the Terps’ deficit to 58-56. But the Terps won’t win if Trimble continues to shoot that poorly.

Guard Rasheed Sulaimon: C

With 5:23 to go, Sulaimon exploded through the defense, got to the basket and lofted an uncontested layup. He missed. He walked away, putting his hands on his head. It seemed to epitomize his night — he shot 2-for-10.

Forward Jake Layman: A-

Layman was once again insanely efficient, scoring 15 points on eight shots. Yet for some reason, he took the second-fewest shots of the Terps’ starters. If a few of Trimble’s attempts go to Layman, this might have been a different game.

Forward Robert Carter Jr.: C+

Carter was uncharacteristically quiet on offense (eight points) and was beaten on the glass all night long. This was one of his least memorable performances as a Terp.

Center Diamond Stone: B+

The freshman was awesome on offense, whether it was with a jumper or in the post. He too, deserves some blame for the Terps’ horrendous showing on the boards, and that’s why he doesn’t get into the A-range, despite 18 points.

Guard Jared Nickens: B-

Trimble might not be back, but it looks like Nickens is. The Terps’ designated long-range shooter shot 50 percent and scored 10 points. That’s big.