The Maryland Terrapins couldn't defend the three-point shot and couldn't make one from long range in a 79-68 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels.
It was a day of disappointment for Maryland fans, beginning what was supposed to be a big snowstorm that only managed to produce a lot of cold rain and ending with a barrage of three-pointers from the Tar Heels.
The Tar Heels shot 10-24 from three-point range while Maryland was miserable, going 3-23. That was the game in a nutshell. The Terps lost by 11 points, but North Carolina outscored them by 21 from behind the arc. Maryland couldn't make up the difference in rebounds, struggling to corral the long bounces off the rim from outside shots taken by the Tar Heels.
Maryland fell apart in a stretch just before halftime as North Carolina went on a 10-0 run and the struggles continued into the second half. The Terps were down by as many as 16 points in the second half and tried to make numerous runs at the Tar Heels, one of which cut the deficit to just six. North Carolina managed to respond to every one of Maryland's spurts by hitting a back-breaking three-pointer.
The Terps fell to 8-9 in the ACC and will have to win the season finale at Virginia to finish out the year with a .500 record in conference play.
Dez Wells lead the Terps with 18 points and seems to be finishing the season strong. Nick Faust chipped in 16 points and has shot much better down the stretch. Those two players will need to continue to step up at the ACC tournament if Maryland wants to make a run.
Alex Len finished with just eight points and seven rebounds in what was very likely his last game at the Comcast Center. Len is expected to head to the NBA after this season, and unless the Terps end up in the NIT and get a home game, this was it for him. The same can be said for James Padgett and Logan Aronhalt, two seniors who had inconsistent seasons. Padgett finished with nine points while Aronhalt failed to score.
It's hard to see Maryland getting into the NCAA tournament now without winning the ACC tournament. If they were to win at Virginia and then get to the finals of the ACC tournament, there may be an outside shot of an at-large berth, but it certainly isn't looking good. With the way Maryland has played on the road this year, it's probably more likely that the Terps lose by 15 or 20 than pull out a win in Charlottesville.
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