Maryland Basketball: Terps win 5th straight in blowout vs. Michigan State
Michigan State could do anything with the Terps defense
Broadcaster Dan Bonner mentioned on the call that Michigan State’s M.O. is to get the ball inside, rebound and run the fast break. What they don’t do well is shoot the perimeter shot. The Terps made it a priority to get back on defense so the Spartans could only set up their offense in the half-court. The plan worked to the tune of 55 points.
There were only a few instances during the game where the Spartans were able to get dribble penetration. They had to settle for threes most of the time, and that didn’t help their cause. The Terps forced them to become one-dimensional, and that’s fine to some degree if the shot is falling. The Spartans shot 4-of-15 (27 percent) from the perimeter in the first half and 4-of-13 (31 percent) in the second half.
Rocket Watts was nowhere to be found in the first half and finished with five points and four fouls. The Spartans could only get quality minutes from Joshua Langford, Aaron Henry, and Joey Hauser. They scored 34 points combined.
Eric Ayala, on his improving defense:
— Emily Giambalvo (@EmilyGiam) March 1, 2021
"Our team, everybody guards well, everybody plays good defense. I feel like I want to be a part of our team in that way. It definitely helps me feel connected with everybody, when we're on the same page and we're all playing good defense."