Maryland started the game cold and remained frigid throughout, as the Terps lost their second straight game of the season Sunday in Brooklyn, falling to Tennessee by a final score of 56-53.
The Terps were led once again by senior guard Jahmir Young, who finished with a game-high 18 points, but was unable to hit a couple of big shots down the stretch.
The Terps brutal stretch of games continues this week, as they will now return home to College Park where they will face the UCLA Bruins on Wednesday.
Here are three takeaways from the Terps' second loss of the season:
Terps ice cold from beyond the arc
The Terps started the game cold from three, missing their first five three-point attempts before Hakim Hart had the first make for Maryland at the 13:22 mark. Things didn't get much better the rest of the opening 20 minutes, as the Terps finished the half an abysmal 2 for 16 from beyond the arc.
As bad as the first half was for Maryland from beyond the arc, the second half was worse. The Terps were unable to make a shot from beyond the three-point arc, going 0 for 8 in the second stanza. One of those misses was an attempt by senior guard Jahmir Young from the top of the key with the Terps down three and time expiring that fell short of the basket.
Donta Scott went 0 for 6 from beyond the arc, while Don Carey was 0 for 4 from deep. Carey going scoreless from three-point land was especially troubling. He had some decent looks and was brought in by Maryland specifically because of his three-point prowess.
It's no secret that the Terps were likely going to live and die with the three this season. So for the Terps to only fall by three to a top-10 team while going 2 for 24 from deep shows how tough this team is and how they have the ability to stay in most any game with their defense, which should always travel even when shots aren't falling.
Defense travels
Speaking of defense, this team is proving to be borderline elite defensively. In the Terps' two losses this season, they have allowed 64 points on the road in-conference and 56 points on a neutral floor to a top-10 team.
Maryland held Tennessee to just 29 percent shooting from the field Sunday night, while also forcing 11 turnovers by the Vols. That is extremely impressive and that kind of defensive effort can keep a team in the game, even when the shots aren't falling. That said, Tennessee was able to take advantage of their size and Julian Reese's foul trouble by grabbing 21 offensive rebounds and turning those into 13 second-chance points. Tennessee was also able to score 15 points off of Maryland's 12 turnovers while Maryland was only able to score eight points off of the Vols' 11 turnovers.
Scott struggles offensively...again
Sunday night marked the second straight game that senior forward Donta Scott failed to reach double-figure scoring, finishing with nine points. Over the past two games, Scott is shooting just 7 of 25 (28%) from the field and just 2 of 5 from the charity stripe.
The good news, is that while Scott has struggled to score the ball, the effort has been there on the defensive end, as he has 18 rebounds and 5 blocks in the Terps' two losses.
Hopefully Scott can get it going on the offensive end when the Terps return home on Wednesday to face UCLA. They will likely need all the scoring they can get versus a veteran Bruins squad.
