No. 2 Maryland loses at home to Wisconsin, 70-57

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) Maryland tried just about everything to get the ball in the basket - driving to the hoop, shooting from the outside, working it inside and out.

Nothing worked.

The second-ranked Terrapins went nearly 11 minutes without a field goal in the decisive first half, fell behind Wisconsin by 16 points and never recovered in a 70-57 loss Saturday night.

Maryland (22-4, 10-3 Big Ten) fell out of a first-place tie in the conference and had its school-record home winning streak snapped at 27 games.

The Terrapins were done in by a first half in which they went 7 for 21 from the field with nine turnovers.

''I just felt we came out with our foot in the mud,'' guard Rasheed Sulaimon said. ''We were slow to everything. We started the game decently and then during that lull period couldn't get out of it for one reason or another.''

After Maryland used a 12-0 spurt to take a 14-7 lead, the Badgers reeled off 17 straight points while the Terrapins went 0 for 5 with seven turnovers.

Game over.

''I just thought the first half we weren't very good offensively,'' Terps coach Mark Turgeon said. ''We took six or seven shots I didn't really love and we turned it over nine times. That's 16 possessions right there. We lost the game in the last 10 minutes of the first half.''

Vitto Brown scored a career-high 21 points, Bronson Koenig had 16 and Nigel Hayes added 14 for the Badgers (16-9, 8-4), who have won seven straight.

After using a 28-5 run to go up 35-19, Wisconsin let the lead dwindle to six points with 10:48 remaining before pushing back. A 3-pointer by Koenig and a layup by Brown made it 53-41, and the Terrapins never threatened again.

''We played an exceptionally good team. I am extremely proud of our guys,'' said Wisconsin coach Greg Gard, now 9-4 since Bo Ryan retired in December. ''I couldn't be prouder to call myself their coach.''

Sulaimon scored 17 for Maryland, which went 20 for 50 from the field and 12 for 22 at the foul line.

''The reality of it is we're 22-4. We've had a good year,'' Turgeon said. ''Every team goes through it. This is really probably the biggest adversity we've hit because we lost a home game. So, we'll see how we handle it.''

The Terrapins made a decent run at digging out of the 16-point hole, but Wisconsin was simply too good to falter - even with starters Zak Showalter and Ethan Happ on the bench with four fouls.

Down 42-30, Maryland got a three-point play from Jake Layman. On the other end, Diamond Stone swatted a shot by Brown into the seats and promptly saluted the crowd.

Seconds later, Maryland reserve guard Jaylen Brantley drove for a layup. After Brown hit a 3-pointer, another layup by Brantley and a dunk by Stone made it 45-39.

But Wisconsin would not be denied. The Badgers lost to Maryland 63-60 on Jan. 9, falling on a last-second 3 by Melo Trimble.

In this one, Trimble had 10 points on 1-for-14 shooting.

The Terrapins trailed 36-21 at halftime after making only one field goal over the final 13 1/2 minutes of the half - a 3-pointer by Sulaimon that halted a 23-2 run.

In the final seconds of the half, Wisconsin's Charlie Thomas and Stone were both called for technical fouls during a heated exchange that brought Turgeon racing onto the court.

While getting up from the floor under the basket, Stone appeared to intentionally shove Brown's face onto the court.

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Wisconsin: The Badgers didn't really change it up after the first game between the teams. ''I think we got them to take some tough shots,'' Gard said. ''I don't think it's anything different than what we've done before, but we just played better tonight.''

Maryland: After the Badgers outrebounded Maryland 40-30 and scored 20 second-chance points, Layman said, ''We've come a long way defensively, but we didn't play as we have recently.''

TIP-INS

Wisconsin: The Badgers improved to 4-3 on the road. ... Wisconsin has won eight of its last 11 games against top 5 teams.

Maryland: Stone, Layman and Trimble each scored 10 points. ... Sulaimon has reached double figures in five of his last six games.

UP NEXT

Wisconsin: The Badgers travel to Michigan State on Thursday night, seeking a season sweep.

Maryland: The Terrapins face Minnesota on the road Thursday night.