Buzz Williams calls it a “turkey.”
The term, defined as three consecutive defensive stops, epitomizes his coaching philosophy and desire to control possessions. On Tuesday, Maryland men’s basketball generated seven of those “turkeys” in the second half of its 84-64 win over Alcorn State, Williams said.
Its offensive counterpart, a “heat,” describes three straight made shots. The Terps weren’t as effective in that department Tuesday.
Maryland was held without a single field goal, much less three in a row, through the last nine minutes of Tuesday’s first half — part of a disastrous stretch in which the Terps missed 10 shots, allowed 17 Alcorn State points and relinquished control of a once 19-point lead.
Scoring trouble, specifically early in games, is common for a Williams-coached team. Williams’ Texas A&M finished third-worst among Power Four schools who made the NCAA tournament in first-half points per game, 34.8, in the regular season.
“Sometimes coaches, particularly me — we try to fit round holes in a square peg,” Williams said. “The most important hole that we have to address is, ‘Can we play really, really hard … and how many possessions in a row can that group do it before we need a sub?’”
Maryland committed 10 first-half turnovers Tuesday, part of an eventual season-high of 17. Williams, sweating through his white dress shirt and animated with rage on the Xfinity Center sideline, tried to adjust through erratic substitutions.
[Maryland men’s basketball’s offense shut down in 70-60 loss to Georgetown]
The Terps’ coach made 31 first-half changes across his depleted 10-player rotation — almost doubling Maryland’s opening frame sub rate in each of its first two games.
“I tried to make sure we played everybody just so that there was the energy prerequisite needed,” Williams said.
The switches didn’t work. The substitutions stripped the Terps of any tangible momentum to close the nightmarish half.
Guillermo Del Pino was a starter in Maryland’s opening two games before being relegated to the bench Tuesday. The freshman guard played just 79 seconds through the game’s first 10 minutes.
Checking back in cold late in the first half, Del Pino struggled to beat the Braves’ staunch 2-2-1 zone press defense alongside guards Andre Mills and Isaiah Watts. It resulted in a costly 10-second violation that sent the Terps’ offense spiraling.
“We play with too high of a turnover rate,” Williams said. “A lot of our spacing on our hands and belt was really bad, which helps [Alcorn State’s] zone. I didn’t think our zone attack in the half court was very well ran, either.”
Williams tempered offensive expectations throughout the preseason. He said Maryland’s three-week fall boot camp focused on character building over system growth, and put the Terps further behind schematically entering November.
Through three games, that warning has held true. With a clear lack of established plays and second-chance looks, offensive possessions became sparse. The Terps’ inconsistent 3-2 offense, with three guards on the perimeter and a pair of bigs filling the high and low post, looked uncertain against Alcorn State’s sagging half-court set.
[Second-half resurgence fuels Maryland men’s basketball’s 84-64 win over Alcorn State]
“They were playing drop on everything,” Mills said. “If they play drop, go downhill. If they’re not, rescreen. If not, throw it to [Elijah Saunders]. If not, throw it to Pharrel.”
Maryland turned to 3-pointers but made just two of its 14 first-half attempts, at an abysmal 14 percent clip.
Instead, it was forced to rely on free throws — a rare constant in a revamped Terps’ offense that’s been completely ineffective.
Maryland shot 74 percent and made 20 shots from the charity stripe in Tuesday’s win. Through the Terps’ first three contests, 32.2 percent of their scoring offense has come from free throws. The mark is fourth among all Division I schools and first among Power Four teams.
“I feel like the free throws, they help — but you got to not turn the ball over given the opportunities,” junior guard Myles Rice, sidelined with an ankle injury, said.
Maryland’s field-goal drought carried into the first two minutes of the second half Tuesday, until a Payne layup broke the silence. The senior forward poured in 22 points and seven rebounds in the eventual double-digit victory.
But its a concerning trend that he’s been the Terps’ lone source of offense as they head into high-major matchups, starting with a road tilt against Marquette on Saturday.
