The Terps' continued their winning ways at home Saturday afternoon, defeating Penn State, 74-68.
Maryland (17-8, 8-6) was led by senior wing Hakim Hart, who led all scorers with a season-high 23 points. He was one of three Terps in double-figure scoring along with senior point guard Jahmir Young (18 points) and sophomore big man Julian Reese (11 points).
With the win, the Terps are now 7-0 at home in league play. They will next face top-ranked Purdue at home on Thursday.
Here are three takeaways from the Terps' win over Penn State.
Home is where the Hart is
Hakim Hart has had a solid senior season as a do-it-all wing who can score, rebound, defend, get out in transition, find open teammates and be a mismatch on either end of the floor. Still, he has at times been overlooked as teammates like Jahmir Young, Donta Scott and Julian Reese led the way in scoring and rebounding.
On Saturday afternoon it was Hart's time to shine, as he finished with a season-high 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and a couple of steals. His 23 points were a career-high in Big Ten play.
It wasn't just the volume of points Hart scored but the efficiency with wichi he scored them. He was 8 of 10 from the field, including 2 for 4 from beyond the arc. He was also 5 of 6 from the charity stripe. He consistently got in the lane and attacked the basket. His layup through traffic in which he drew contact at the 4:12 mark was perhaps the biggest play of the second half. Penn State senior wing Myles Dread fouled out of the game on the play and Hart's made free throw put the Terps up 10 points for the first time in the second half.
When Hart is knocking down threes and using his length on the defensive end to come up with steals, the Terps are extremely tough to beat.
Martinez sparks Maryland off the bench
For a team that lacks depth, Martinez was a real spark off the bench for Maryland on Saturday. The junior guard scored all eight of Maryland's bench points, including an acrobatic alley-oop dunk and a two-handed baseline jam that ignited the home crowd. He also sparked the Terps on the defensive end with a blocked shot.
Over the past four games, Martinez has become a consistent presence off the bench for Maryland, averaging seven points over 21.75 minutes per game during that stretch. Against Michigan State, Martinez logged a season-high 30 minutes.
Martinez is one of, if not the most athletic player for the Terps and you can see that athleticism when he's in the game. One aspect of his game that hasn't been talked about much this season has been his three-point shooting. During the recent four-game stretch, he's 4 of 10 from beyond the arc and he's shooting over 38 percent from three for the season. For a team that has really struggled at times to make threes, his outside shot has been somewhat of a revelation.
Terps struggle to defend from three for a second straight game
While the Terps have been one of the better teams both nationally and in the Big Ten defending the three, they have really struggled defending the arc the past two games.
It started Tuesday night at Michigan State as they allowed the Spartans to go 9 for 20 from beyond the arc. But it wasn't just the fact that they allowed the Spartans to hit nine threes, but the way they failed to close out on three-point shooters or simply got lost and allowed some wide open looks.
Some of those same issues presented themselves at times Saturday afternoon versus Penn State, as the Nittany Lions shot 12 of 26 from deep. DMV native Myles Dread, who had really struggled of late coming into the game, was 3 of 7 from beyond the arc, while little used backup guard Kanye Clary also knocked down a three.
The Terps will face another excellent three-point shooting team on Thursday when they host Purdue. They will be looking to get back to playing the kind of perimeter defense they did when the two teams met in West Lafayette and the Boilermakers went just 2 of 13 from three.
