Maryland falls flat in 78-66 home loss to Michigan State

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — No. 24 Michigan State ( 20-9, 12-6 Big Ten) exacted revenge on No. 9 Maryland (23-6, 12,6) Feb. 29 after losing at home two weeks prior, as the Spartans took down the Terps in College Park 78-66.

Michigan State went on a 17-6 run to end the first half to go into the locker room up 40-29 and never looked back from there, ending with a double-digit road victory.

“Michigan State was terrific, guys,” Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon said. “That was a different team than we played in East Lansing. We were a different team that played in East Lansing. But I think a lot of the credit goes to them. They came out and they hit us — hard screens, boxing out. They were ready. They ran their offense at a high level in the first 12 minutes of the game and we could hardly catch up with them. They were good. That’s all I can say is they were really, really good. They were better than us tonight.”

Senior point guard Cassius Winston led the Spartans to victory with a 20-point, six-assist line on Saturday night, avenging his lackluster 14-point, five-assist line in East Lansing.

“What makes them hard to guard is a guy named Cassius Winston,” Turgeon said. “There aren’t many guys as good as he is in ball screens and recognizing things and making open shots. He’s hard. And we just could never really get control of the game. We never ever had control of the game. What makes them good is they were dialed in tonight and that kid is terrific.”

Winston was aided by junior forward Xavier Tillman, who finished with a 14-point, 12-assist double-double to go along with six assists, two blocks, and a steal.

“He’s a banger, rebounder. Pretty much it was a fight between me and him all night,” Terps’ forward Jalen “Stix” Smith said.

Michigan State shot 47 percent as a team and had 19 second-chance points to Maryland’s 10. The Spartans also dished out 20 assists on 28 made field goals while pushing the ball up floor throughout the game on Saturday night.

“Transition defense and rebounding was the game,” Turgeon said. “I thought we really tried hard defensively.”

The Spartans’ lead was as high as 18 and was cut to as low as nine in the second half, but Michigan State never took its foot off the gas and held on for the victory. Freshman forward Malik Hill finished with 16 points and six rebounds and fellow freshman Rocket Watts had 13 points.

“They were terrific,” Turgeon said. “They deserved to win. They were the best team. They were ready to play. Just give them a lot of credit. We’ll bounce back.”

Terps’ sophomore Jalen “Stix” Smith recorded his 19th double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds. He also blocked two shots on the defensive end.

The only other Terps to score in double figures were senior point guard Anthony Cowan Jr. and freshman forward Donta Scott, who finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Cowan also had four rebounds and three assists while Scott added three rebounds to his totals.

After scoring 36 points combined in Maryland’s last two games prior to Saturday night, sophomore wing Aaron Wiggins struggled against the Spartans, shooting 1-for-7 from the field and finishing with just four points.

“Wiggins just couldn’t get it going, but you have to give them credit. They did a really nice job,” Turgeon said.

The Terps didn’t lead for even a second on Saturday night as Michigan State controlled the entire game from the jump. Shooting 12-for-28 from beyond the arc made the Spartans nearly impossible to beat on Saturday night, as well as a plus-six rebound margin.

“Today was just their day,” Smith said. “Everything that could go right for them went right. They were hitting shots. They were getting offensive rebounds over us. But props up to them because they didn’t really miss a shot today.”

With the excitement of ESPN’s College GameDay in town and the chance to win at least a share of the regular season Big Ten title on the line, pressure loomed large for the Terps. But Maryland was cognizant of the atmosphere and is determined to right the ship next week when they take on Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey.

“I wanna give our fans a lot of credit today,” Turgeon said. “It was an amazing day on their part. They did their part. They were ready all day. From the start, they were electric. We just didn’t give them much at the start to cheer about, but they stuck around for the whole game and stuck with us.

“We have to be resilient, we have to bounce back. It’s really between the ears between now and Tuesday. Play with a little more confidence and a little more grit than we played with tonight. We know [Rutgers] is a tough place to play, but we just have to go up there and play well.”