With 13:45 left in the second half of Maryland’s game against Purdue, Kevin Huerter threw down a dunk to give Maryland a 52-40 lead. Xfinity Center exploded, Purdue head coach Matt Painter needed a timeout and Maryland looked to be in pretty good shape to get a much-needed win against a ranked opponent.
Maryland’s 12-point lead rapidly shrunk to one, as a three-pointer from Purdue’s Ryan Cline made the score 52-51, prompting Mark Turgeon to call a timeout with 9:41 left.
What happened to Maryland’s offense during Purdue’s 11-0 run? Well, let us take a look at how each offensive possession ended for Maryland during that run.
13:06: Kevin Huerter missed three-point jumper
Maryland’s first possession after the dunk was giving Kevin Huerter a pretty clean look for a three-pointer that he wound up missing. Ryan Cline (no. 14) did a decent job of contesting of the shot after getting around Dodd, but it was still a good shot for Huerter to take. 12:49: Melo Trimble missed three-point jumper, 12:45: Damonte Dodd missed jumper
Both of these looks were better than Huerter’s three-pointer on the previous possession. After a steal, Melo Trimble missed a wide open three in transition and then Damonte Dodd was unable to score on the putback. A wide open three for Trimble and putback for Dodd are both shots they should make more often than they miss.
11:48: Kevin Huerter missed three-point jumper
After Purdue hit a three-pointer, Maryland seemed poised to answer right back with one of their own, with Kevin Huerter standing in the corner. Trimble found him open, and Spike Albrecht (no. 55) gave his best effort at contesting the shot, which wound up working. At this point, Maryland has missed four straight shots, despite having good shot selection on all of their attempts. 11:12: Jared Nickens missed three-point jumper
This was not exactly a good look, but it was not a bad look either. Nickens got some space to shoot, but Caleb Swanigan (no. 50) was quick to contest it. With 17 seconds left on the shot clock, Maryland probably could have tried for a better shot, but there are worse ideas than letting someone who was shooting 71 percent on threes in conference play get a shot there.
10:50: Anthony Cowan missed layup
Anthony Cowan decided to run in transition after grabbing a rebound, which was a pretty decent idea. Then he decided to try to make a lay-up with four people around him, while Jaylen Brantley was open and looking for the ball. This was the first shot Maryland missed during Purdue’s run that clearly looked like a bad decision. 10:00: Melo Trimble turnover
Maryland’s last possession before Mark Turgeon called a timeout ended with Melo Trimble losing the ball trying to dribble inside.
Ultimately, Purdue was able to go on an 11-0 run not because Maryland had bad shot selection, but because the Terps struggled to get good looks to go in.
