After falling to Purdue on Saturday evening, the arguments as to why Maryland will not make the Final Four gained a bit of steam, no matter how closely the Terps finished on the scoreboard. Here are three reasons why those arguments just might be true.
1.) Too Many Mental Lapses
As Maryland worked its way back into the game against Purdue, Robert Carter–who, it should be noted, has been largely fantastic this season–had two of the most costly possessions of the whole game. On one end, he dribbled himself into a tough position off the block and then, rather than kicking the ball out to one of his guards, he forced up a ridiculous fall away shot. Then, defensively, he completely fell asleep in the halfcourt and let Caleb Swanigan wonder out, wide open, and knock down a three. This kind of thing happens too often on a team who’s talented enough to win it all.
2.) Rebounding, Rebounding, Rebounding
The Terps have struggled on the boards throughout conference play, but it was especially brutal against Purdue. A team with bigs like Robert Carter and Diamond Stone shouldn’t get nearly doubled up on the boards. No one on the team averages seven rebounds per game, and although it’s understandable for the boards to be distributed, there hasn’t been a conscious effort to gain an advantage in that area all season.
3.) Trimble Not Himself
If all you saw of the game yesterday was the box score, you wouldn’t understand ripping into Melo Trimble. Sure, he finished with 19 points, but the level of passiveness that he’s reached is incredibly concerning. Not only is he not being aggressive consistently, but he often lacks the kind of emotion and vocality that made him such a great leader to begin the season.
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