Maryland Basketball: Takeaways from blowout loss vs. No. 5 Iowa

Luka Garza, a Maret School (D.C.)  alum, comes home and dominates Maryland basketball  (6-6, 1-5 Big Ten) as the Iowa Hawkeyes (10-2, 4-1 Big Ten) win convincingly.

The Capitol Hill riots caused outrage in the sports world and beyond and prompted players and other figures to speak out.

Before Maryland basketball and Iowa took the floor to play the game, coaches, players, and staff on both sides kneeled in solidarity with one another on the court. The player-led decision was prompted by Terps guard Darryl Morsell who enlisted Hawkeye Guard Jordan Bohannon’s help.

Bohannon was the second-leading scorer for the Hawkeyes with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the perimeter and four rebounds.

Morsell was a masked man tonight as he came back from a facial injury suffered against the Indiana Hoosiers. He only played four minutes and had three points.

Maryland came out of the gate aggressive, hitting two threes early to take a 6-0 lead. Their lead grew to 19-9 before the Hawkeyes came roaring back.

Hawkeyes Head Coach Fran McCaffery was visibly frustrated with his team’s defensive effort, and after the second timeout, they went on a 35-7 run to close the first half with a 44-26 lead.

They caused 10 Maryland basketball turnovers, and the Terps were 4-of-16 from the perimeter.

Garza had 17 points, five rebounds, and two assists going into halftime. He went on to finish the game with 24 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

Aaron Wiggins had another excellent game and gave the Terps some good things to watch on film with his play. He led them with 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

He went down in the second half with an ankle injury but thankfully was able to walk off the court and come back in the game.

The Terps did much better offensively in the second half than the first, but Iowa was too good for them to make a comeback. They lost 89-67.

Things won’t get any easier for the Terps’ frontcourt as they go on the road Sunday to play the No.12 Illinois Fighting Illini at 8 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

Iowa welcomes the No. 24 Michigan State Spartans to Carver-Hawkeye Arena next Thursday at 8 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

Iowa’s bench was huge for them throughout the game

When your bench plays well in support of the starters, that bodes well for the chance you have to win. The Hawkeyes got excellent production off the bench from Keegan Murray (12 points, five rebounds, two blocks) and Patrick McCaffery (10 points, three rebounds).

Joe Toussaint provided the Hawkeyes with good defensive minutes as he stole the ball six times and scored four points.

Jack Nunge was all over the court as he scored five points, secured six rebounds, dropped three dimes, and got one steal.

The Hawkeyes bench outscored the Terps bench 33-16.