If you’re reading this, it’s too late.
The Maryland men’s basketball team’s undefeated season is over. Coach Mark Turgeon’s squad won’t be the first since 1975-76 to turn an unblemished regular season into national-championship glory.
That’s not exactly a surprise.
This group features three freshmen starters. They, along with the rest of the team, are exhausted from five games in 10 days. Coach Mark Turgeon wouldn’t use the schedule as an excuse for Tuesday night’s 73-59 loss to Pittsburgh — and he shouldn’t — but it contributed to the Terps’ lackadaisical first 30 minutes.
They shot 34.4 percent from the field. After starting 3-for-4 from three-point range, they made seven of their last 32 looks before the final buzzer sounded with most of the 17,144 fans trudging through the Xfinity Center walkways. Despite a late surge, the sixth year coach lamented his team’s 14 turnovers and 19 fouls.
“I just know that we’re going to be good,” Trimble said. “It’s not going to happen every game.”
Panthers guard Jamel Artis (22 points) and forward Michael Young (25 points), meanwhile, pummeled the Terps from the perimeter and in the paint. If these grades were for Pittsburgh’s student newspaper, they’d get As.
But they’re not, so here are my marks from the Terps’ first loss — and likely not their last.
Guard Melo Trimble: B+
On the day Trimble earned Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors for his heroics in last weekend’s Barclays Center Classic, the junior from Upper Marlboro didn’t display that same flash. He led the Terps with 13 points but struggled to draw fouls against the Panthers’ zone defense. The more-than-20-point second-half deficit proved too much for him to lead his team back again.
Guard Anthony Cowan: B-
With about three minutes left, the rookie stood at the foul line, looking to build on Maryland’s 10-1 run that cut its 17-point deficit to single digits for the first time since the first half. Cowan’s free throw didn’t fall. The energy from fans in the Xfinity Center did.
He finished 4-for-11 with 11 points, three assists and three turnovers. But after starting the season with pesky defense, he struggled to match up with Pittsburgh’s long guards.
Forward Justin Jackson: C
Before the student section could finish its opening chant, Jackson had drilled a three. A few minutes later, he ran up the court waving three fingers to signal another long ball. Less than five minutes in, the rookie from East York, Ontario, had eight points. After 40 minutes, scoring his total hadn’t changed. As Jackson’s production faded, so, too, did the Terps’ lead.
Forward Michal Cekovsky: B+
The Slovakian big man didn’t earn a start after his career-best, 16-point performance in Saturday’s win over Kansas State, but he entered the game less than a minute after the opening tip. He totaled 10 points off 4-for-4 shooting, but much of his contributions came on putbacks or lob passes. With few frontcourt scoring options, the Terps need Cekovsky to maintain his inside presence.
Guard Kevin Huerter: C
Huerter’s best stretch came midway through the second half, starting with an assist on Cowan’s three, continuing with his own trey and ending with a block on the ensuing defensive set. Still, the freshman finished 2-for-9 shooting.
He won’t get the chance to avenge the performance in tomorrow’s practice — Turgeon is giving the team a day off from workouts and film study to decompress from its grueling start — but Huerter and his fellow rookie starters will look to bounce back from their first college loss in Saturday’s clash with Oklahoma State.