When Maryland and Penn State met for the first time this season, Julian Reese put together his best statistical game of the year, tallying 24 points and 15 rebounds in an overtime win against the Nittany Lions.
But the Terps were without their junior big man on Sunday as Reese sat with an ankle injury, and Penn State dominated the paint in the team’s rematch. Perhaps the biggest difference without Reese was on the defensive end, where he anchors the paint for a Terps defense that’s been ranked in KenPom’s top 10 nationally for much of the season.
Former Terp Qudus Wahab led Penn State past Maryland with 19 points and 15 rebounds. The hosting Nittany Lions beat the Terps, 85-69, to extend Maryland’s losing streak at Penn State to seven games. It hasn’t won in University Park since 2015.
“[Reese] tweaked his ankle on I think it was Wednesday, we took two days off and it wasn’t anything serious, but when someone logs that many minutes all season long, you gotta make sure you protect your guy,” Willard said.
The Terps were outrebounded, 47-26, while the Nittany Lions scored 42 points in the paint to hand Maryland its eighth loss in its last 10 games.
[Xfinity Center was Maryland’s fortress last season. It was breached this year.]
The loss marks the end of a disastrous regular season for Maryland (15-16, 7-13 Big Ten), which ended the year 12th in the Big Ten standings after being projected to finish near the top of the conference before the season.
If the Terps can’t make a run in the Big Ten tournament, they’ll end their season with a losing record for just the second time since 1993. Maryland finished in the conference’s bottom four for the first time since joining the Big Ten, meaning it’ll have to take on Rutgers in the first round of the conference tournament on Wednesday.
Kevin Willard’s squad looks to be a longshot to earn an NIT bid after making and winning a game in the NCAA tournament in his first year at the helm.
Maryland looked out of sorts early on Sunday and was often tentative in making decisions with the ball, resulting in stale possessions that mostly ended with misses.
The Terps started 5-for-18 from the field before making three straight shots to score eight unanswered points in about a minute. The last make, a three-pointer from Jamie Kaiser Jr., gave Maryland a 27-24 lead and forced a Penn State timeout.
[Maryland men’s basketball’s tumultuous year tarnished Jahmir Young’s historic season]
But the Terps went just 2-for-9 in the rest of the half and entered the break trailing, 36-32. Jahmir Young had a game-high 11 points while Donta Scott added eight for Maryland in the opening half.
The Nittany Lions took advantage of Reese’s absence and outrebounded the Terps by eight in the opening 20 minutes. Wahab led Penn State with nine points and eight rebounds in the first half.
The teams went back and forth early in the second half as Maryland was within one possession for the opening five minutes — then Penn State erupted.
The Nittany Lions scored 10 unanswered points and went on an 18-5 run to expand their lead to 15 with about 11 minutes to go.
Penn State’s hot streak included a span where it shot 11-for-14 from the field. The Terps had a few timely makes, including a pair of threes from Noah Batchelor, but couldn’t keep up with the Nittany Lions.
Maryland never recovered and ended its regular season with an all-too-familiar loss.
“I think the frustration level has hit these guys,” Willard said.
