As the Terrapins men’s basketball team stumbled down the final stretch of the regular season, its defense failed to stifle opponents like it had earlier in the year. The Terps allowed at least 80 points in their final two road games, both resulting in losses.
So entering the Big Ten Tournament, coach Mark Turgeon emphasized regaining their defensive identity. It didn’t happen when they allowed 86 points to Nebraska in the quarterfinals, but the offense bailed them out. Then came the second half against Michigan State in which they locked down against one of the best teams in the country.
The Terps held the Spartans to 28.6 percent in the final 20 minutes. And though it wasn’t enough to pull off the win, they enter their matchup with No. 12-seed South Dakota State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a renewed confidence on that end of the floor.
“We are definitely trying to take the momentum from that second half into this tournament,” forward Jake Layman said. “If we play like that on the defensive end, we are going to put be hard to score on.”
The Jackrabbits don’t have an overly powerful offense — their average of 76.3 points per game is No. 96 in the country — but they boast a balanced attack.
South Dakota State has three players averaging at least 14.7 points per game, led by forward 2 The 6-foot-9 freshman comes off the bench to score a team-high 15.2 points per game in addition to hauling down a team-best 6.1 rebounds per contest.
“He’s just a good player,” Turgeon said. “He’s a good low-post player. He can step out and shoot threes when he has to. He’s got toughness to him. He’s a smart player.”
But the fifth-year coach didn’t seem overly concerned with Daum. After all, he knows his rookie big man, Diamond Stone, can have success down low.
“My freshman is pretty good, too,” Turgeon said. “It should be a pretty good matchup in the game.”
While the Terps hadn’t yet watched film on the Jackrabbits when they met with the media Tuesday, the players spoke confidently. They’ve lost five of their past eight games, but the Terps believe they turned a corner against the Spartans.
“The way we practiced [Tuesday], you would’ve thought we won the [Big Ten] Tournament,” guard Melo Trimble said. “This team has a lot of confidence, especially on defense.”
The Terps’ inconsistent offense was on display last weekend when they followed up a 97-point performance — the most ever scored in the Big Ten Tournament — with just 61 points against Michigan State. But they know on a team with multiple future pros, the baskets will come.
It’s just a matter of locking in the other end like they know they can.
“The defense helps us go,” Trimble said. “Coach always talks about how important it is to play defense in the tournament because not every game you are going to make a lot of shots like we did against Nebraska.”
