Maryland men’s basketball hadn’t won a game since 2025. When conference play picked back up in early January, it lost four straight. But like the Terps, Penn State entered Sunday’s contest with an identical
Big Ten record: 0-6.
After seizing an early lead, Maryland ultimately came out on top in the battle of the struggling programs, 96-73.
Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s action.
Diggy Coit is a superstar
There’s no doubt that Penn State presented the Terps’ easiest matchup since Old Dominion on Dec. 28. But Maryland’s cohesion and execution Sunday makes one wonder how it looked so discombobulated against its recent Big Ten foes.
Look no further than Diggy Coit. The senior was the reason why the game was essentially over at the half.
Coit has exploded for multiple high-scoring efforts over the course of season; he’s an extremely streaky shooter with a lethal stepback jumper. However, he’s seldom stacked these iconic performances. After his 30-point outing against USC on Tuesday, Coit outdid himself with a 43-point performance in Xfinity Center.
It was Coit’s showing in the first half that dictated the game’s flow. He outscored the Nittany Lions by himself in the opening frame, logging a staggering 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting. His 3-point shooting was incredible, no doubt — the 5-foot-11 sniper racked up six triples in the first 20 minutes. Some of those makes were well beyond the arc, too.
Perhaps more impressive was Coit’s diverse array of moves to get to the basket. Often, he worked to isolate himself on a big, utilizing a switch on a screen or a pick with one of Maryland’s frontcourt players. The crafty guard simply proved too nimble for some of Penn State’s flat-footed forwards, and his high-off-glass scoop layups and ability to draw fouls were indicative of a player on a heater.
But Coit’s on-ball gravity did wonders for the Terps’ ball movement and securing open looks. In the first half, Maryland had seven assists, with multiple going to players spaced along the 3-point line. Elijah Saunders hit two first-half triples — a result of the well-oiled offense.
What’s up with the second half struggles?
Maryland went step-for-step with USC in the first half Tuesday, but it completely fell apart down the stretch. That narrative of second half struggles continued Sunday.
The Nittany Lions used a 15-0 scoring run to cut Maryland’s lead down to 10 points over the first 10 minutes of the period. One thing was evident in that dismal stretch — head coach Buzz Williams did very little to ensure that Coit handled the ball on the offensive end.
Simply put, the Terps were spoiled by Coit’s near-perfect first half. That is, they rarely had to craft a a set offensive game plan because the offense was constantly in motion, shooting in rhythm and operating smoothly on odd-man breaks. But when the Nittany Lions began to make their shots and momentum shifted, they had time to set its structure on defense and trap Maryland.
When Coit did get possession of the ball, he was often double-teamed and cornered — in fact, he didn’t score a single point in the frame until nearly the nine-minute mark. When Maryland’s offense slows down, it hinders it significantly.
But when Coit got the ball in his hands again, things shifted back in Maryland’s favor, and it won the game quite handily. With Pharrel Payne, the Terps could get away with slowing down the offense and searching for paint mismatches. Without the star big, speed and motion must be the team’s calling card.
10 rotation players for Buzz
One of the most interesting aspects of Williams’ coaching strategies has been his lineups, which he has tampered with constantly throughout the season. Whether it be due to injuries, poor performance or successful combinations, Williams has tried a litany of tandems and mixtures — they’ve led to contrasting results.
On Sunday, the starting lineup consisted of Coit, Saunders, Darius Adams, Isaiah Watts and George Turkson Jr. The notable omission, of course, was Solomon Washington, who had started every game since he returned from injury. But here’s the kicker: Turkson played only seven minutes all game, while Washington ended with 28 — tied for second-most on the team.
Williams has time and again done this over the course of the season, and it begs the question: is it for defensive matchup purposes, spacing, rebounding or something else?
In addition, Aleks Alston and Collin Metcalf both received at least 10 minutes of playing time Sunday, but Myles Rice earned only seven minutes off the bench.
Heading into the season, Rice was arguably projected to be Maryland’s second-best player, but his role has been significantly constrained by the collective rise of Adams, Coit and Mills. Only a junior, it could be too soon to mark his stint with the Terps a complete failure, but it’s certainly trending in that direction.
