After a promising win over a ranked Iowa squad, Maryland basketball had a real opportunity to build some momentum. The next three games on the schedule featured teams with a combined 9-34 record in Big Ten play - the kind of stretch that could’ve helped steady the ship in a turbulent season. But instead of taking that next step forward, the Terps stumbled hard in a frustrating 11-point loss to Rutgers - a team sitting at the bottom of the Big Ten in both KenPom and the NET rankings.
It was a deflating result, especially after back-to-back wins had given this group its first real spark since November. Head coach Kevin Willard didn’t sugarcoat it.
“It’s part of the immaturity on the path to maturity to understand this, the specific path and plan that we have to follow,” Willard said postgame. “It’s just human nature, our guys are humans.”
That quote says a lot. This is a team still trying to learn what it takes to win consistently - not just when the lights are bright, but when the opponent isn’t a marquee name. And that’s been the story of the season: flashes of potential, followed by stretches where the execution just doesn’t match the moment.
“They’ve been through a lot in the stretch of losing, where it was convincingly,” Willard added. “And then they’ve learned a lot in the last week. And I thought that there were too many gaps of, ‘Are you sure we have to play exactly that way?’”
That “exactly that way” part is key. Maryland’s win over Iowa was built on discipline, ball movement, and defensive intensity.
Against Rutgers? Not so much.
The Terps reverted to some of their bad habits - rushed shots, inconsistent effort, and poor shot selection.
The numbers tell the story. Maryland shot just 22-of-66 from the field and a rough 7-of-30 from beyond the arc. That kind of inefficiency is hard to overcome, no matter who you’re playing.
There were a few bright spots. Darius Adams led the team with 13 points in his return to his home state. Solomon Washington brought energy and toughness, finishing with 11 points and 14 rebounds - one of the few players who seemed to match Rutgers’ physicality.
But the rest of the lineup struggled. Andre Mills, coming off a career night, couldn’t find his rhythm - he went just 3-for-14 and fouled out with nine points. Diggy Coit had a tough night too, shooting 5-for-19 overall and 2-for-10 from deep.
This wasn’t just a missed opportunity - it was a step backward. And for a Maryland team trying to find its identity as the season winds down, these are the kinds of games that sting.
The talent is there. The coaching is there.
But the consistency? Still a work in progress.
As Willard emphasized, this is part of the growth process. But if the Terps want to make anything of the remainder of their season, they’ll need to grow up fast - and learn how to bring that same energy and execution every night, regardless of who’s on the other side of the floor.