After jumping inside the top 25 for the last three weeks, Maryland saw itself tumble seven spots in this week’s updated rankings, checking in at 20th.
Maryland suffered its first loss of the season in a 64-59 matchup against Wisconsin on Tuesday night, dropping to 1-1 in conference play. Then Maryland battled back from down as much as 21 points against Tennessee on Sunday afternoon, but the comeback effort was thwarted in the final minute as the Vols squeezed out a 56-53 win inside the Barclays Center. Despite the ugliest offensive performance of the season on Sunday as Maryland shot 32.7% from the field, including 12.5% in the first half, Maryland’s defense helped tighten the deficit as head coach Kevin Willard was pleased with his team’s fight.
“This team, they’re resilient. They’re a good group to coach. I’m not happy with them right now, obviously, but I’ve learned a lot. I think the biggest thing that we’ve gotta work on is, obviously in game kind of stuff,” Terps head coach Kevin Willard said following the loss. “I think we gotta get better at that and just clean up what we want to do and how we want to do it. But I think these guys have shown that they’re a tough group. They’re resilient. They’re an unselfish group. It’s just again, I just think, especially since no one’s been with me for eight years, not having practice time, you rest a little bit. I’m proud of how they’re playing and where we are, what we’ve gotten to. I just need, I need to get back into the practice gym and be able to practice a little bit.”
Maryland will look to rebound this Wednesday night against UCLA, who moved to 7-2 after defeating Denver 87-64 on Sunday. It will be the last of a tough four-game stretch for Maryland with an eight-day break looming before non-conference play resumes.Related Links Florida DL talks official visit to Maryland, timeline (+) VIP: What I’m hearing coming out of OV weekend (+) Willard breaks down loss vs. Tennessee Cincy CB Ja’Quan Sheppard commits to Maryland