Maryland falls to Minnesota at home, 89-75

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Xfinity Center has been known as a safe haven for the Terps since its opening in 2002. In fact, entering this season, Maryland was 205-42 all-time in their home building during that 15-year stretch.

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But with a 89-75 loss to Minnesota (21-7, 9-6 Big Ten) Feb. 22, No. 24 Maryland (22-6, 10-5) has now lost four games at home in the same season for the first time since joining the Big Ten.

“First of all, I want to brag about Minnesota,” Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon said after the game. “They weren’t good; they weren’t great; they were phenomenal. We couldn’t guard them. Have to give them a lot of credit.”

The first half was a back-and-forth affair as the Terps entered the locker room with a one-point lead. But the Golden Gophers shot 55 percent from the field and made 15-of-17 free throws to pull away in the second half and win their sixth game in a row.

Perhaps the biggest swing in momentum came when the Terps were down eight with 4:32 left and Turgeon picked up his second technical foul in as many games, allowing Minnesota to sink two free throws and get the ball back for an and-one which put the Golden Gophers up by 13.

More from TSR: WATCH TURGEON TALK HOME LOSS TO MINNESOTA

“It happened so fast,” Turgeon said. “You’re right there and then you’re down 10.”

Minnesota 6-foot-5 sixth man Dupree McBrayer took advantage of Maryland’s guards throughout the night and posted a game-high 18 points for the Golden Gophers, tying his career high.

Four more Golden Gophers--Nate Mason (17), Akeem Springs (16), Jordan Murphy (15) and Amir Coffey (13)--also scored in double figures on Wednesday with Maryland’s defense having an off night.

“One thing we talked about was being better defensively and we weren’t tonight,” Turgeon said. “We weren’t good enough defensively, couldn’t guard them.”

Maryland did improve on the boards, winning the battle on the glass 42-36, and played well offensively at times, dishing out 22 assists on 30 made shots, but a nearly five-minute drought without a field goal in the second half was ultimately too much for the Terps to overcome.

“We rebounded better,” Turgeon said. “We’re becoming a better rebounding team. But Minnesota was just terrific. We did a lot of nice things on offense until about the 8-minute mark and then we weren’t so good down the stretch, and I’ll take the blame for that.”

Although this was not Maryland’s finest performance, an encouraging sign for the Terps to take from the game is the play of sophomore Ivan Bender, whose emergence is even more critical now that junior center Michal Cekovsky has been lost for the year with a fractured ankle.

Bender scored a team-high and career-high 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting and ripped down five rebounds while battling it out in the post for 16 minutes on Wednesday night.

“We’re a man down, so L.G. [Gill], myself and Damonte [Dodd] have to step up every game and cover what [Cekovsky] meant to us throughout the season,” Bender said. “It means a lot because we have great guards on our team and I just have to play smart and be in the right spot and finish every layup they get me.”

The Terps have now lost four of their last six and will look to get back on track Saturday when they host an Iowa team that they beat by eight on the road earlier this season.

But as Maryland learned on Wednesday against a team that they beat by seven earlier in the year, things can change quickly in college basketball. But Turgeon and his team hope to change them for the better moving forward.

“It’s a long year,” Turgeon said. “There’s a lot of games. It’s a lot on these kids. We weren’t great tonight. Please give Minnesota all of the credit and we’ll be ready to go Saturday.”