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It’s only a small sample size, but the Maryland men’s basketball team has struggled mightily when playing away from College Park. The Terps, who are ranked No. 17 in the nation, have played in three true road games and lost all of them due to insufficient shooting and lack of energy on both ends of the court.
Maryland’s 67-49 loss to Iowa on Jan. 11 was just another example. The Terps shot less than 35% from the floor, and the intensity they had against Ohio State prior seemed to have faded away.
“We weren’t ourselves against Iowa,” Terps’ Coach Mark Turgeon said on Monday. “I didn’t even recognize us.”
Maryland (13-3, 3-2 Big Ten) has averaged 55 points per game on the road, while being held under 50 points twice. The Terps offense seems to fall flat when they play in arenas outside of Xfinity Center, as they have shot 33% from the field.
“I’m noticing this year, everyone is struggling on the road,” Terps sophomore guard Eric Ayala said. “It’s a goal of ours to be successful on the road because I know we handle business at home.”
Ayala struggled in the loss to the Hawkeyes, shooting 0-6. The Delaware product hasn’t been himself lately, as he has average 5.8 points per game in Maryland’s last five contests.
Turgeon has stressed to his players that they have to play smarter on the road and stop forcing bad shot attempts and generating unnecessary turnovers. The Terps turned the ball over 34 times in their last two road games.
“As a coach, you got to figure out what we are going to do,” Turgeon said. “I expected us to be a good road team. We got to play better.”
With three of their next four games on the road, the Terps remain confident that they can turn things around.
“I got a bunch of winners and they’re used to winning,” Turgeon said. “I think we’ve gotten better. It’s just when the lights come on, how are we going to handle it?”
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