Maryland’s trip to Capital One Arena turned into a familiar nightmare.
Just 10 miles from home, the Terps came in hoping to show they were a different team from the one that lost to Georgetown a year ago. Instead, Maryland looked every bit as outmatched in an 86-74 loss that sent the 2026-27 season’s first game spinning in the wrong direction.
The opening stretch was at least more competitive than last season’s meeting. Maryland stayed within five points over the first 10 minutes, and the game carried the same bruising feel from the start.
The two teams combined for 36 rebounds in the first half, and that physical style seemed tailor-made for 6-foot-9 forwards Pharrel Payne and Tomislav Buljan, who finished with a combined 18 boards. Payne, battling 7-foot-1 center Vince Iwuchukwu for much of the night, was relentless around the rim.
But winning the glass didn’t mean Maryland was winning the game. Georgetown stretched the margin to 12 points with 7:16 left in the first half after back-to-back 3-pointers from Jaland Lowe and Elmarko Jackson.
From there, the Hoyas’ size and rim protection took over. Maryland had seven shots blocked, and Chol Machot was a major reason why, swatting five on his own.
With the Hoyas holding a steady double-digit cushion, Buzz Williams turned to a four-guard lineup late in the half. That move paid off immediately when DJ Wagner sliced to the basket for a tough and-one layup through traffic.
Georgetown answered fast, though, closing the half with a 10-0 burst fueled by its shooting from deep. Maryland’s offense faded badly down the stretch of the period, missing seven of its final nine shots.
The biggest separator by halftime was the 3-point line. Maryland went 1-for-11 from beyond the arc in the first half, a rough 9% clip. Georgetown, meanwhile, buried eight threes at a 47% rate and took a 16-point lead into the break.
Any hope of a reset vanished quickly after halftime. Maryland opened the second half by committing four fouls in the first 33 seconds, and Georgetown kept pouring it on. The lead ballooned to 23 within the first five minutes.
Baba Oladotun’s third stint of the game came early in the second half and lasted six minutes, but the freshman never really found his footing. The player who nearly chose Georgetown before committing to Maryland finished with just two points and looked overwhelmed by the pressure of the Hoyas’ defense.
Williams kept shuffling through different lineup combinations as he worked through a 10-player rotation, but none of it changed the feel of the game. Maryland never found a rhythm, especially on offense, while Georgetown kept landing punch after punch.
The margin reached 33 points with 7:45 left after back-to-back two-handed dunks from Iwuchukwu, and that was enough to start thinning out the Maryland crowd in the building. By then, the Terps’ chance to answer last year’s loss was gone.
There were three glaring takeaways from the night. First, perimeter defense remains a problem.
Giving up more than 50% shooting from 3-point range is bad enough; doing it against a Georgetown team that shot 26.9% from deep against Loyola (Md.) makes it worse. Maryland has now allowed 12 threes to Bucknell and 15 to the Hoyas in back-to-back games.
Second, the Terps were nearly invisible from long range. Georgetown was hot from deep, while Maryland went cold in a way that’s hard to ignore.
The Terps missed 17 straight 3-point attempts at one point. Andre Mills hit Maryland’s first try from deep, but the next make didn’t come until four minutes remained.
For a backcourt as deep as Maryland’s, a 15% 3-point shooting percentage is a major concern.
Third, Payne carried far too much of the load. Unlike the Bucknell game, when five players reached double figures, Maryland leaned heavily on Payne’s production. He scored 28 points, which accounted for 37.8% of the Terps’ total, while only two teammates joined him in double figures.
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Marylands Georgetown Loss Exposed A Gap Terps Fans Wont Ignore
Marylands trip across town to face Georgetown ended with a familiar kind of frustration, the sort that lingers because it exposed more than just a bad shooting night. The Terrapins fell 86-74 at Capital One Arena, with Georgetown spending most of the afternoon in control and getting the kind of perimeter production that kept Maryland chasing from the start. Pharrel Payne did what he could to steady things, finishing with 28 points and eight rebounds, but the Terps never found enough offensive rhythm to turn the game into a real battle.
For Maryland, the concern is less the final margin than the way the game unfolded. Georgetowns edge from three-point range forced the Terps into catch-up mode, and even with Payne carrying the scoring load, Maryland could not generate enough consistent support around him. Jaland Lowe paced the Hoyas with 22 points, and the result left Maryland with a reminder that the gap in this matchup was not just about one cold stretch, but about a broader issue fans are likely to notice again if it shows up in bigger games. [Read more 🡒]
Maryland Just Took A Painful DMV Rsum Hit
Marylands non-conference trip across the DMV turned into a frustrating afternoon as Georgetown controlled the game from the start and handed the Terps an 86-74 loss. The Hoyas kept the pressure on with perimeter shooting and never really let Maryland settle in, turning what should have been a useful resume game into a damaging result for a team trying to build momentum.
Pharrel Payne did his part for Maryland with 28 points, but the Terps could not match Georgetowns balance or shot-making on the other end. For Georgetown, the win carries real weight in the NCAA tournament conversation, while Maryland is left sorting through a defeat that looked avoidable for long stretches and could linger when the bracket picture starts to tighten. [Read more 🡒]
Maryland Just Got Exposed In The One Area Buzz Williams Needs Fixed
Marylands early-season trip to Capital One Arena offered a blunt reminder of how much work still sits in front of Buzz Williams team. In an 86-74 loss to Georgetown, the Terrapins fell to 1-1 and spent most of the night chasing a Hoyas group that was far more comfortable from the perimeter, while Marylands own offense never found enough rhythm to keep pace.
Pharrel Payne gave Maryland a strong individual effort with 28 points and eight rebounds, but it was not enough to offset the bigger issues. The Terps were exposed defensively and had trouble answering Georgetowns outside shooting, the kind of problem that tends to travel with a team if it is not corrected quickly, especially with the schedule already asking for more consistency. [Read more 🡒]