Checking In With Maryland & Rutgers

Both Maryland and Rutgers faced daunting tasks this past week. Maryland had matchups at #17 Virginia and at #8 Duke. Rutgers had a home date with #23 SMU and a trip to #13 Louisville on the docket. While both teams went 0-2, they were very different 0-2s. Rutgers was run out of the gym in both contests, but Maryland kept it close in both contests and was thisclose to winning in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Let's take a look at these four games a little more closely. TO THE EAST COAST!

Maryland

Last week was a make or break one for the Terps. If they had split their two contests, they could have held on to their slim Tourney hopes and if they swept both? Full on bubble fever in College Park! Unfortunately two close losses, while nice for the moral victory column, don't do anything for the Terps' postseason hopes. Their first trip of the week was to Charlottesville for a game against the 17th ranked Cavaliers, which ended in a 61-53 defeat. Maryland was actually up by one at halftime and were tied at 35 into the second half, but a scoring outburst by Joe Harris (16 in the second half, 19 total) and some stifling UVA defense put the kibosh on any hopes of a Maryland upset. Seth Allen had 15 points, two rebounds, and two assists, while Dez Wells chipped in 12, four, and four for the Terps. An inability to get to the line hurt Maryland again, as Virginia only committed 11 fouls all game. This was UVA's sixth straight victory over Maryland and the last time the teams will matchup as ACC opponents in Charlottesville. Maryland's second game of the week at #8 Duke was a heartbreaker. The Terps lost by two, 69-67, and had multiple chances to take the lead with seconds left in the game. Rebounding Machine Charles Mitchell (12 points, six boards) missed two close range shots with under 10 seconds to go that would have given Maryland a one point lead. The first one was blocked out of bounds, but the second one hung on the rim for roughly an hour (may have been longer) before falling off into the hands of Amile Jefferson. If this really was Maryland's last scheduled game against Duke until Coach K retires (which won't happen) or dies (which probably also won't happen, see frozen Disney, Walt), it certainly sent the rivalry off with a bang. Jake Layman had 18 points and six rebounds, Dez Wells had 17 points and six rebounds, and Nick Faust chipped in seven points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block off the bench. Maryland has a quiet week ahead, with only a home date Tuesday night with Wake Forest on the schedule.

Rutgers

Where to begin with Rutgers? Let's get the horrifying scores out of the way first: 77-65 loss to SMU, not so bad you're saying, isn't "horrifying" a bit dramatic you're saying, 102-54 loss to Louisville. BOOM, horrifying! Rutgers actually played SMU tough in both games this year, but were never able to get over the hump and actually, you know, win against them. Per usual, Kadeem Jack (15 points, eight boards, two assists, two blocks) and Myles Mack (17 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals) lead the way for the Scarlet Knights, but also per usual, it wasn't enough. Ok, I didn't really want to delve too deeply into this next game, but hooooo baby are there some telling stats in the box score. Rutgers shot 35.4%/24%/65.2% (FG/3FG/FT) compared to Louisville's slash line of 55.7%/53.3%/72%. Rutgers turned it over 18 times to Louisville's nine. Rutgers had 24 rebounds to Louisville's 39 (probably due to the shooting discrepancies, methinks). Rutgers had 10 assists to Louisville's 23. And in case you didn't see the score above, Rutgers had 54 points to Louisville's 102! Smdh, Rutgers. S. M. D. H. Jack and Mack each had 10 points and little used freshman (seriously, look at his ESPN profile) Kerwin Okoro had nine points off the bench. I don't ever want to talk about this game again. *runs to shower* Ok, I'm back. Rutgers upcoming schedule doesn't get any easier as they have a matchup with #22 Memphis this week.

Another week, another depressing recap of future B1G bros Maryland and Rutgers. If you want to poke a Maryland fan with a stick, please holler at our newest staff writer Andrew Emmer (@AndrewEmmer) so he can use it as a good "hate base" for other B1G fans.