Maryland solidifies its NCAA tournament spot by cruising past Michigan State

Maryland turned the worrisome start into an emphatic 68-57 victory that sends the team to the conference tournament quarterfinals to face top-seeded Michigan. The Terps’ outing Thursday offered a glimmer of optimism for this team as it continues deeper into the postseason. They responded with force, rather than crumbling. The Terps hadn’t won a game in the Big Ten tournament since 2016.

The team’s pair of junior guards, Eric Ayala and Aaron Wiggins, excelled with one of their best combined performances. Ayala led the team with 21 points and Wiggins followed closely behind with 19. They both played with aggressiveness and drove to the rim, routinely getting to the free throw line in a game that featured 44 fouls between the two teams.

Maryland’s defense struggled early, but then the Terps forced the ninth-seeded Spartans into an extended rut. Michigan State missed 16 of 17 field goal attempts during a stretch that lasted nearly 17 minutes, beginning midway through the first half and continuing after the break. As Michigan State’s trouble persisted, eighth-seeded Maryland managed to seal the win and advance.

The Terrapins’ NCAA tournament spot that seemed guaranteed a week ago became flimsier after back-to-back losses against Northwestern and Penn State to close the regular season. An early exit in the conference tournament wouldn’t have doomed the Terps, but it would have made make Selection Sunday a nervier experience for this team and its fan base. Instead, Maryland will take this positive performance at Lucas Oil Stadium as a sign of improvement.

Maryland’s offense couldn’t get into a rhythm early in the game, but the Terps improved after the break. They shot only 38.2 percent from the field and finished with a 6-of-20 clip from three-point range. Maryland still found an offensive game plan that worked — drive into the paint and draw fouls — and the team thrived.

The Terps mostly relied on Ayala and Wiggins, but junior forward Jairus Hamilton (nine points) also hit a pair of three-pointers during the first half when Maryland was still searching for offensive answers. Senior guard Darryl Morsell, recently named the Big Ten’s defensive player of the year, offered an offensive spark with five straight points in the second half, which pushed Maryland ahead by double digits and Michigan State never threatened.

The Terrapins could hardly muster a defensive stop during the opening minutes of the game, and they let the Spartans cruise to a 23-11 lead at the midway point of the first half. Maryland went nearly five minutes without a basket and seemed a step slow on most possessions. But then Michigan State endured a prolonged offensive rut — only 1 for 9 from the field with seven turnovers during the final 10 minutes before the break.

As Michigan State struggled, the Terps capitalized. Their offense never found its rhythm, shooting just 31.8 percent from the floor before halftime. But Maryland drew 14 fouls in the first half alone, including a technical assessed to the Spartans’ bench while Coach Tom Izzo argued one of those calls, and the Terps made 15 of 16 free throws. Just after Michigan State grabbed that 12-point lead with 10:21 left in the half, Maryland took the lead with a 16-3 run that was fueled by Ayala’s ability to get to the foul line and hit free throws.

Sophomore guard Hakim Hart made the three-pointer that pushed Maryland ahead, but eight of the Terps’ points during that stretch came from Ayala at the free throw line. Ayala closed the half with a three-pointer at the buzzer to hand Maryland a 34-30 advantage at the break.

The Terrapins’ defense continued their solid run by starting the second half with nine straight stops. Meanwhile, Maryland’s offense generated an 8-0 burst that extended its lead to double digits for the first time in the game. The Spartans finally ended their scoreless stretch when A.J. Hoggard made a layup more than six minutes into the second half. The Spartans committed 18 turnovers throughout the game, and Maryland scored 27 points off those giveaways.

The Spartans surged late in the regular season, winning five of their final seven games and solidifying their spot in the NCAA tournament picture. Michigan State entered the conference tournament as a team on the rise and had recently beaten three conference foes ranked in the top 10 nationally. Early in their game against Maryland, the Spartans seemed poise to continue that run of form. But then Maryland responded, eventually leaving the arena with its largest comeback of the season and another game scheduled for Friday.