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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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COLLEGE PARK, MD – DECEMBER 07: Jalen Smith #25 of the Maryland Terrapins (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD – DECEMBER 07: Jalen Smith #25 of the Maryland Terrapins (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

‘Stix’ is consistent but not dominant

Despite the loss to Iowa being a tough pill for Maryland to swallow, they can take some pride in knowing that the leader showed up. Jalen Smith was his usual self in 29 minutes of action. Despite being at an obvious disadvantage in terms of strength, “Stix” fought his way to five boards and two blocks while battling with the likes of Luka Garza (260 lbs.) and Ryan Kriener (255 lbs.) inside.

The Terps as a team, couldn’t get any efficient offense going, so Smith made a mark early by attacking the offensive glass. It only resulted in one offensive rebound putback score for him but his energy and activity kept a decent amount of balls alive, leading to some second-chance opportunities. He played a large part in Maryland having nine offensive rebounds as a team.

Smith did all of his damage in the paint, finishing 5-for-7 from the field for 13 points. He went 3-for-4 from the free throw line and added a steal for good measure. Smith was expected to take on a larger share of the offense this season and while he hasn’t exactly done that–usage rate has actually dropped from 22.9% to 22.4% from last season–he has been an overall more efficient player. This season Smith has raised his true shooting percentage to 59.7% up from 55.1% last season.

Friday was simply an example of what can happen when Maryland’s guards are struggling from the perimeter, something that has been an issue all season. The Terps are shooting 30.6% from the 3-point line on the season, which is 291st in the nation. If this trend holds up as it did on Friday night when the Terps shot a woeful 4-for-22 from 3-point range (18.2%), then Smith will have less and less room to operate within the paint.

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