Fran McCaffery On What Went Wrong In Iowa's Blowout Loss To Maryland

Fran McCaffery's Iowa Hawkeyes were in a position to beat No. 25 Maryland on the road, but then they went cold in the second half and blew it.

Dec 7, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Fran McCaffery reacts in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at Crisler Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Fran McCaffery and the Iowa Hawkeyes had to have felt good heading into halftime in College Park. Iowa led No. 25 Maryland, 51-47, and seemed poised to be in a strong position to pull off an upset win on the road.

What happened in the second half of the game was a meltdown of epic proportions for the Hawkeyes, though. Maryland was hot in the second half while Iowa was not. The Terps outscored the Hawkeyes, 54-24 in the second half en route to a 101-75 victory.

According to McCaffery after the game, it sounds like his Hawkeyes tensed up a bit and started making bad decisions. The Terrapins, on the other hand, made adjustments when they went back into the locker room.

"Maryland changed defenses. I thought we had a couple good looks early (in the second half) and then they went on a run, and we started quick shooting the ball. Which you can’t do on the road," McCaffery said, according to the team website.

Iowa also went cold from behind the three-point line, which is arguably the main reason Maryland was able to make a run in the second half. The Terps came out in the second half on a 23-4 run which saw them shoot 9-of-13 from the field. The Hawkeyes, in the meantime, went 2-of-9 in that stretch.

Iowa made 8-of-13 three-pointers in the first half and shot a healthy 57.1% from the field. The Hawkeyes went 0-for-13 from three in the second half, which dipped their second-half shooting percentage down to 29.7%.

"I thought we had some good looks. In the first half we made eight threes and then couldn’t make one in the second half," McCaffery explained.

That's a losing recipe, especially on the road against a Top 25 team.

With the loss, the Hawkeyes fell to 14-11 on the season and 5-9 in Big Ten play.

Remember, they're playing without star forward Owen Freeman, who as lost for the season a few weeks ago after undergoing finger surgery. Freeman had averaged 16.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists for Iowa in 19 games.

Up next for Iowa hoops, the Hawkeyes look to bounce back against Oregon at Carver-Hawkeye arena on Wednesday.