Maryland men’s basketball is in the midst of the least arduous portion of its Big Ten schedule. But on Sunday, the Terps fell by more than 10 points to Rutgers.
With a chance to correct its course, Maryland instead faltered again, this time to Northwestern, 78-74. Just five games now remain in its disappointing campaign.
Here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s action.
Mills vs. Martinelli delivered
Andre Mills and Nick Martinelli set the tenor and pace of the first half. In fact, it’s almost as if everyone else on the court disappeared into the background of Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Martinelli’s production came as no surprise. He leads the Big Ten in scoring with 22.1 points per game and finished with 29 Wednesday. His scoring was well distributed throughout both halves, and his offense came from various locations on the court.
His first half of 13 points included a 3-pointer near the game’s outset. He operated as the team’s point-forward, often orchestrating the flow of the offense at the top of the key and 3-point line. Martinelli’s skillset and versatility kept Maryland honest, and it morphed into a zone defense to try and confuse and combat the crafty senior.
But Martinelli wouldn’t be tricked. He found a consistent soft spot between the Terps’ two low defenders at the free throw line, making his mark with numerous push shots and floaters.
Mills, meanwhile, almost matched his highest scoring output of the season in just the first half, notching 22 points. He ultimately shattered that number across all 40 minutes, ending with 39. And like Martinelli, Mills made a significant impact both inside and outside the arc. His six 3-pointers were a season-high by two, and he was as effective a finisher at the rim as he’s been all season long.
Where his attacking style differed from Martinelli is that his drives were explosive in nature, and he often bruised his way to the cup. On one occasion in the first half, he even plunged into Martinelli on a beeline to the hoop, sending the forward teetering backwards.
Martinelli himself, however, proved to be a patient and composed weapon for his team, sinking midrange jumpers and high-off-glass layups. His experience and poise has allowed for the game to slow down in his favor.
Streaky shooting, or bad defense?
Jordan Clayton went 6-of-7 from 3-point range Wednesday. Heading into the game, he was just 17-of-54 from deep. Northwestern also ranked dead-last in the conference in 3-point percentage heading into the contest, but it shot 57.1% on 12 makes against the Terps.
The performance was undoubtedly an anomaly, but was it all the fault of Maryland?
The Terps’ switch to zone defense at points didn’t just allow Martinelli some open push shots. It also gave him free rein to dish out looks or skip passes to perimeter shooters. Maryland, as has been the case at quite a few junctures this season, was slow to react, perhaps not giving much deference to the Wildcats’ shooting abilities.
A few threes came courtesy of offensive rebounding. Ange Ciaravino snagged the team’s only two of the night, but he was quick to redistribute to the perimeter. Northwestern’s swing passing was crisp, too, and Jake West was the beneficiary of a nice feed from the corner that had the Terps rotating late.
But some of the deep range shots were simply a product of stellar individual skill. Martinelli motored a 9-0 run by himself in the latter stages of the second half — the run contained two 3-pointers — that gave the Wildcats the cushion they needed to close it out.
Too little, too late
With four minutes left, Northwestern led by 11. But the Wildcats only won by four, and that’s because Maryland manufactured a commendable comeback effort — albeit far too late.
The principal issue with Maryland’s offense down the stretch was that it didn’t feature Mills enough until the game was essentially out of hand. Before that four-minute mark, the freshman guard had splashed two threes and made a layup in the period. But he was not the centerpiece of the attack, whereas he had been in the opening frame.
Mills scored nine of the Terps’ final 15 points, and a plethora of those came from free throw opportunities. Had head coach Buzz Williams and his staff made it a priority to feed the hot hand, his trips to the charity stripe could have absolutely slowed the game down and forced Northwestern to earn its buckets in the half-court offense on the other end.
As it was, the Wildcats struggled mightily in the last few minutes regardless. After getting 70 points, it didn’t score a single one for the next 3:21, until there was 1:23 left in the game. Northwestern had previously had issues closing games late against opponents, too, falling to Rutgers, UCLA and Iowa by seven points or fewer.
Had the Terps been more cognizant of their dominant scorer, a more interesting end could have unfolded in Evanston.