Maryland Men's Basketball falls to No. 13 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll
Mark Turgeon and the Maryland men's basketball team have struggled mightily in their last two games. As a result, the Terrapins dropped from No. 7 to No. 13 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll.
The common theme in almost all of the Terrapins' games this season is their slow starts. No matter who the opponents are, the Terrapins have a tendency to play down to their competition.
Just to give everyone an understanding of Maryland's first half struggles, take a look at their field goal percentage the last three games.
Game 10 (vs Illinois): 10-33 (30.3 FG%)
Illinois first half stats: 16-34 (47.1 FG%)
Game 11 (@ Penn State): 11-30 (36.7 FG%)
Penn State first half stats: 18-39 (46.2 FG%)
Game 12 (@ Seton Hall): 6-25 (24.0 FG%)
Seton Hall first half stats: 10-25 (40.0 FG%)
Maryland will not win many more games if they continue to make less than 40 percent from the field before the half. They won their first ten games winning from behind and that formula was clearly unsustainable. For a team that has prided themselves in their defensive play, they have struggled in that department in those three games.
The loss against Seton Hall was inexcusable considering the Pirates were without two of their top scorers in Myles Powell and Sandro Mamukelashvili. They were also on a two-game losing streak.
The Terrapins have one of the deepest rosters in all of college basketball yet all of their players have been in a slump. Senior guard Anthony Cowan and star forward Jalen "Stix" Smith must find a way to play at their highest level all game. If they struggle, the rest of the team will follow. Turgeon needs get his team to play up to their talent level because they are better than this.
Not only has Maryland dropped to No. 13, Kansas has also dropped from No. 1 to No. 5. Gonzaga is now the top-ranked team, followed by Ohio State, Louisville, and Duke.
Maryland will host Bryant on Sunday, December 29th at the Xfinity Center.
