3 Things We Learned From The Maryland Loss To UNC

Last night’s Maryland vs UNC game was the college basketball game of the year so far. Besides the sloppy start to the game, it was high-level basketball for the majority, a quick reminder that the college game can be highly skilled and enjoyable to watch. We had two of the best guards in the country going at in Melo Trimble and Marcus Paige, and they did not disappoint. Ultimately UNC won the game, but it was a great game that saw Maryland fight back vs the preseason number 1 team in their house. As I wrote yesterday, no national championship teams go undefeated, and we learned a lot about the Terps form last night’s game, most if it positive, leaving us optimistic about what this team can do moving forward. Here are my 3 main takeaways, in no order:

1.) Melo Trimble is a bad, badddddd man

23 points and 12 dimes for the sophomore, who played out of this universe in the 2nd half. Unconscious basketball. He struggled with turnovers a bit, as did the entire Maryland team, who had 9 turnovers in the first 7 minutes of the game, and 22 by the end of it. Melo will learn from last night’s game and continue building himself into a B1G player of the year candidate.

2) Jake Layman is not who we thought he was

Since he came in his freshman year Jake Layman has been hyped as a first round NBA prospect, the next Chandler Parsons, a great stretch 4, etc etc. Since then, he just hasn’t become the player we all thought he would be, best highlighted last night where his offensive game was nowhere to be found. He still has the ability to space the floor and rebounds well, but his shot is pure shit. He’s shooting 28% from 3, and his confidence looks off. He shot only 1-5 from the field in 28 minutes last night. If Maryland is going to go deep in March, Layman needs to find his stroke or play fewer minutes. Dodd or Nickens, depending if they want to go big or small, can fill his spot without much drop off.

3) Rasheed Sulaimon is the real deal.

I love Rasheed Sulaimon, you love Rasheed Sulaimon, we all love Rasheed Sulaimon. The Duke transfer has been absolutely crushing it for the Terps, pairing up with Melo to give Maryland one of the best, if not the best, backcourt in the country. While Melo stays calm and cool on the court, Sheed is the vocal leader and brings the intensity that gets the team going. Plus, he can flat out play. He thought about leaving Duke after his freshman year when he was considered a first round pick, but he stayed and lost minutes his next two seasons. Now with Maryland he’s shooting over 50% from 3, playing great defense, and averaging over 3 assists and boards per game. Sulaimon is an all-around player and has quickly catapulted himself back into a first round pick.

While the Terps didn’t win last night, there’s not much wallowing going on. They took UNC to the wire in the Dean Dome in their first big test of the season. There’s a reason UNC with Marcus Paige is considered the best team in the country, and it showed. Maryland will learn and grow from last night, and I would not be worried if we saw them again in March.