The Maryland basketball team couldn’t catch a break on Saturday.
Wisconsin rebounded and shot their way past the No. 2 Terps in a 70-57 win. It was the first loss at home for Maryland since they joined the Big Ten.
Wisconsin outrebounded Maryland 40-30, including a 13-9 advantage on the offensive glass. The Badgers also shot 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from beyond the arc with four of their five starters connecting on multiple three-point shots.
The Terps were led by guard Rasheed Sulaimon, who scored 17 points (5-of-12), grabbed four rebounds, and recorded a pair of steals. Jake Layman, Diamond Stone, and Melo Trimble added 10 points apiece as well.
Maryland outscored Wisconsin 9-3 during the first two minutes of the second half. The outburst was highlighted by a Sulaimon three-pointer and a ferocious dunk by forward Robert Carter.
Sulaimon made his first four attempts from beyond the arc.
With 17:05 remaining in the game, forward Nigel Hayes connected on a huge three after a strong defensive possession by Maryland. After Hayes’ big shot, the Terps responded with a 9-3 run.
Busting Brackets
It was all started by a terrific three-point play from forward Jake Layman in which he drove to the rim and was fouled by Charlie Thomas.
Layman also managed to drive on the baseline and drop off a beautiful pass to Stone for the dunk to cut the Wisconsin lead to 45-39 with 10:45 remaining in the second half.
However, that would be as close as the Terps would get. Maryland would only score 16 points the rest of the way.
Wisconsin nailed a trio of three-pointers during the final 10 minutes of the game.
Forward Vitto Brown was huge for the Badgers as he ended up with 21 points. Brown always seemed to come up with a big bucket when Wisconsin needed it.
Maryland did start off the game in stellar fashion.
After Wisconsin began the game on a 7-2 run, Maryland woke up and responded with a run of their own. The Terps went on a 12-0 outburst, which was highlighted by a pair of threes from Sulaimon.
Maryland connected on five of their first eight shots from the field.
Then the Terps went ice cold. Over a 8:08 stretch, the Badgers went on a 14-0 run to take a 24-14 lead until a pair of Melo Trimble free throws got Maryland going.
At the break, Maryland trailed Wisconsin 36-21.
Maryland put themselves in a huge hole in the first half and it was just too much to climb out of. It also didn’t help that Trimble shot a bleak 1-of-14 from the field over the course of the game.
Next: Terps host Wisconsin as conference play resumes
Maryland will return to the court on Thursday evening when the Terps travel to Minnesota.