The Maryland men’s basketball team will play its fifth game in 10 days when it hosts Pittsburgh on Tuesday night as a part of the ACC-Big Ten challenge.
The stretch started Nov. 20 against Towson, a 71-66 victory when Maryland had to overcome a 13-point deficit in the second half. The Terps returned to Xfinity Center two days later to play Stony Brook and then traveled to New York for the Barclays Center Classic on Friday and Saturday.
“Is it hard? Yeah,” coach Mark Turgeon said after his team beat Towson. “We’ve talked about that we had to use games to get better with our team.”
Maryland has struggled at times, needing overtime to beat Richmond and guard Melo Trimble’s heroics to down Kansas State, but it enters the matchup with the Panthers (5-1) undefeated. Turgeon would “love to have a lot more practice time right now,” but the frontloaded schedule helped the Terps learn how to win close games, a characteristic they believe will be important as the season progresses.
“It will definitely help us,” freshman guard Kevin Huerter said. ” [What becomes apparent] as you get further in the season and conference tournament-type things and hopefully beyond — playing in March — is that the games you’re going to have to play are going to be close to each other.”
Trimble was the lone starter to return from Maryland’s Sweet 16 team last year, so Turgeon said the bevy of newcomers forced him to focus on teaching his offense and meshing his high-profile freshmen with their veteran teammates, many of whom were reserves a season ago.
Three freshmen have played significant minutes, as Huerter and fellow guard Anthony Cowan have started every game, while forward Justin Jackson has been in the starting lineup the past five. Days off have been rare, so much of their adjustment period has come in live game action.
Still, Turgeon said playing tight contests in succession has forced the younger players to mature. That trio has often been on the floor late in games. They’ve made valuable contributions down the stretch, such has Huerter’s game-winning block against Georgetown, to help build the Terps’ 7-0 record.
“It makes you grow up, especially the freshmen,” said Cowan, who’s averaging 11.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. “Make sure you make the right decisions.”
If the Terps had two weeks of practice, the sixth-year coach anticipates he would stabilize the frontcourt rotation. Forward Damonte Dodd (concussion) returned in the Terps’ 69-68 win over Kansas State, marking the first time this season all of their big men were healthy. Turgeon could finally move L.G. Gill, a thin 6-foot-8 forward, back to the four spot — his natural position — against the Wildcats.
Neither player provided much production Saturday night, but the Terps didn’t need them to. Forward Michal Cekovsky scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, a career outing that helped Maryland keep pace before Trimble took over late.
After Tuesday night’s game, the Terps schedule slows down. In those practices, Huerter believes Turgeon will emphasize defensive fundamentals, such as guarding ball screens and help defense. They’ll also fine-tune their offense, which shot 29 percent in the first half against Richmond but 44.4 percent over that span versus Kansas State.
So far, though, they’ve had to work through these issues against opponents, and Huerter said Turgeon has told the team to treat games as practices.
The results haven’t always been what Turgeon has wanted, but the Terps have done enough to avoid defeat entering Tuesday’s game against Pittsburgh.
“Our execution’s gotten better,” Turgeon said. “It’s had to. Our just desire to figure out how to win a game has gotten better during this stretch.
“We’re learning. We’re definitely learning.”
