Bob Haynie: Terps Need To Get Tougher On The Boards
The Maryland Terrapins lost to Michigan State last Saturday night at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. The 74-65 defeat dropped the Terps to 17-3 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten. It was a big win for the Spartans as they ended a three-game losing skid by taking care of business in front of a national television audience.
For Maryland, it wasn't a devastating setback by any means. However, a troubling trend continues for coach Mark Turgeon's team.
On the offensive glass, Michigan State outrebounded Maryland to the tune of 17-9. In the Terps' previous contest against Northwestern, the Wildcats got the better of the offensive rebounding battle 16-4.
For the season, Maryland has grabbed only 180 offensive boards and they average 9.0 per game. Those stats are good for 12th in the 14 team league. Maryland is 139th in offensive rebounding percentage and their 9.0 per game is tied for 301st (Youngstown State) in the nation.
With Robert Carter, Michal Cekovsky, Damonte Dodd, Jake Layman and Diamond Stone all 6-foot-9 or taller, you would figure that the Terps would be much more effective in offensive rebounding. The numbers, of course, say otherwise.
Maryland will host the third-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday night at the XFINITY Center. The Hawkeyes are a strong team that averages 81.7 points per game and 11.2 offensive rebounds per game.
If the Terps are going to earn their first win of the season over a ranked opponent, they will have to work hard on defense and very hard on the offensive glass.
