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Maryland Basketball: Takeaways from big defeat on the road to Iowa

By Michael Walton

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - JANUARY 07: Head coach Mark Turgeon of the Maryland Terrapins motions to his players during the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Xfinity Center on January 07, 2020 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - JANUARY 07: Head coach Mark Turgeon of the Maryland Terrapins motions to his players during the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Xfinity Center on January 07, 2020 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Maryland Basketball
COLLEGE PARK, MD – DECEMBER 29: Chol Marial #15 of the Maryland Terrapins (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /

Maryland Basketball suffered a tough conference loss on Friday, falling tough a tough and physical Iowa team on the road. The loss puts the Maryland Terrapins in a four-way tie for 3rd place in the Big Ten.

Maryland basketball was riding high coming into Friday’s matchup with Iowa. They were winners of three-straight games, including back-to-back wins against Indiana and No. 11 Ohio State. On the flip side, Iowa came into Friday night with back-to-back losses looking to avoid a three-game skid.

This game was a rock fight from the start, with both teams quickly realizing that the first team to pull away would likely come out of Carver-Hawkeye Arena with a win. This game also had all the makings of a “trap game.” The hard-fought Ohio State win likely took a lot of the Terrapins, and the Hawkeyes were desperate for a win to avoid falling into a three-way tie for last place in the Big Ten.

Mark Turgeon is tinkering with the rotation following the departures of freshman Mahki and Mahkel Mitchell, and though it is a necessary experiment, it feels as if this year’s Maryland team may not have a true identity at the moment. The Terrapins ran out to an early lead before a big-time 14-0 run by Iowa put Maryland in a hole heading into halftime. Ultimately the Terps couldn’t muster enough offense to come back down the stretch, as their leading scorer had what was unequivocally his worst game of the season and possibly his career.

Things will get better for the currently No. 13 Maryland basketball program, as a road matchup with No. 14 Wisconsin will give them a chance to pick up another signature, resume-building win. But what could we gather from Maryland’s 67-49 loss to Iowa on Friday?

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