Maryland Basketball: 5 Burning Questions for Remainder of Terrapins' Season

The Maryland Terrapins have fared much better this year than almost anyone could have predicted, but there are still questions as the squad enters the home stretch of the season.

With 10 regular-season games remaining, the Terrapins are 18-3 overall with a 6-2 record in the Big Ten. Head coach Mark Turgeon—who was likely on the hot seat if he couldn't get his team into the NCAA tournament—is now looking at the possibly of a high seed in March.

That being said, things are far from perfect in College Park. The Terps were some late heroics away from losing at home to Northwestern on Sunday, which would've been the second loss in a row. With difficult upcoming games at Ohio State, at Iowa and a rematch against Indiana, this team better be at its best to avoid a late slide.

If Maryland wants to remain a top contender in the Big Ten while making a deep run in the NCAA tournament, it will have to answer these questions.

Will Perimeter Defense Become a Problem?

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Over the course of the season, Maryland has done an excellent job at defending the three-point line. Opposing teams have shot just 30.3 percent from behind the arc this year, good for 38th in the nation.

However, the past two games have not been great defensively for the Terps. Indiana made an incredible 15 of 22 shots from three-point land, while Northwestern hit eight of its 20 shots, including 7-of-12 in the first half.

A lot of this could simply be chalked up to just bad luck, especially when little-used players like Collin Hartman and Sanjay Lumpkin can combine to go 6-of-6 from deep in these two games. Yogi Ferrell also seemed like he could've scored against anyone in the world at times against Maryland.

Still, the Terps have to make sure they don't allow this to become a recurring issue in future games. They have to use their length and athleticism to get hands in faces and prevent opponents from even getting off shots.

Meanwhile, perimeter defense is more than just preventing open shots from deep. The players also have to make sure they don't allow penetration to create easy layups, which was the case in the past two games as Northwestern and Indiana combined to make 57.1 percent of shots from the field.

Maryland's defense was excellent to start the Big Ten season, but everyone on the floor has to make sure he has the same focus and intensity on every play going forward for this end of the court to remain a strength.

What Happened to Damonte Dodd?

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Although Damonte Dodd has never really been an offensive threat, he appeared ready to fill a valuable role in this squad as an elite interior defender. This effort was on full display when he finished with nine points, 12 rebounds and three blocks in a win over Minnesota.

Unfortunately, the sophomore hasn't built off this performance much in recent weeks.  

After a miserable two-game stretch against Illinois and Purdue, coach Mark Turgeon discussed the need to remind Dodd of his role.

"That’s the whole thing when you’re dealing with young people. You’ve got to keep his confidence up, but you got to have him understand what he is," Turgeon said on a teleconference, via Don Markus of The Baltimore Sun. "He’s been a defender and a rebounder."

After posting three blocks in a 75-59 win over Michigan State, which was one of the team's best games of the year, Dodd was once again relegated to the bench over the next two games. In 22 total minutes against Northwestern and Indiana, he finished with as many personal fouls (three) as points, rebounds and blocks combined.

Evan Smotrycz is a good on-ball defender in the post, but a lack of athleticism will prevent him from ever being a shot-blocker. Jonathan Graham provides good energy but remains undersized for his position. Michal Cekovsky started the last game but is still too raw to help out much on either end of the court.

This leaves Dodd as the only true rim-protector on the roster. He needs to step up on the defensive end to prevent opponents from turning games into a layup line.

Can the Team Score Without the Free-Throw Line?

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This is not based on anything Maryland has done wrong this season. One of the strengths of this team is its free-throw shooting, and it has found a way to get to the line whenever possible.

According to KenPom.com, the Terps get 25.6 percent of their points from the charity stripe, which ranks 12th in the nation. Melo Trimble leads the way, hitting 87.9 percent of attempts and ranking third in the nation with 131 made free throws.

The problem is that calls are not always going to go the Terps' way, no matter how aggressive they are offensively. Blaming the refs for a loss is also not as much fun as winning in spite of them.

At the same time, there are days where the shots simply aren't falling, as evident by losses to Illinois (10-of-18 from the line) and Indiana (6-of-12).

When this happens in a big game, Maryland has to make sure it can get points in other ways. Trimble has shown the ability to score both inside and out to help carry a team down the stretch, but Dez Wells and Jake Layman have to be much more consistent options in creating their own looks.

Getting other scorers involved, such as freshmen Jared Nickens and Dion Wiley, is also important when offense is needed.

As successful as the Terps have been to this point, variety is always a good thing.

Is Dez Wells Back to Being Himself?

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Coming into the season, senior Dez Wells was not only expected to be a leader, but one of the few go-to options on the roster. After averaging 14.9 points as a junior, he was looking at a spot on the All-Big Ten team with an average of 16.2 points in the first five games as a senior.

Unfortunately, a wrist injury sidelined him for seven games, and Wells has not looked the same since.

Over the next eight games, the guard averaged 11.5 points while shooting just 35.4 percent from the floor with three turnovers per game. 

While the emergence of Melo Trimble and Jake Layman over the past two months has decreased Wells' importance on the floor, this team will not reach its potential without the senior playing at his best.

The good news is Wells reminded people what he can do in the come-from-behind win over Northwestern. He scored 17 points with eight coming in the final four minutes and 12 seconds as the squad made up an 11-point deficit.

Of course, the biggest moment came on the game-winning putback with 1.4 seconds remaining, captured by Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post.

The reality is there are few players in the nation you would rather have on your team in crunch time than Wells. Although he has struggled a bit since returning from his injury, a fully healthy competitor would be a major boost to this program.

How Good Is This Team?

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This is the real question for Maryland because even with the majority of the season in the books, we don't know how good this group can be.

At times this year, the Terps have looked like a true contender for the Big Ten and possibly more with impressive wins over Iowa State and a sweep over Michigan State. On the other hand, road losses to Illinois and Indiana might bring this squad back to earth.

Even those who make ratings throughout the year have a varied opinion on the Terps at this point. The coaches poll has the group as high as No. 13 after falling from No. 8 a week ago. Conversely, KenPom.com—which uses a more predictive model—rates the team as No. 29 in the nation with luck having a lot to do with the hot start.

RPI and BPI have this team listed somewhere in the middle as we head into the final couple of months.

The reality is when the defense is playing well and the offensive trio of Melo Trimble, Dez Wells and Jake Layman are hitting their shots, Maryland can make a run to the Sweet 16 or beyond. The heart on display in the comeback win Sunday is also an important quality for an elite squad.

However, there is still a lot to prove in the coming weeks. Road games against Ohio State and Iowa will be especially challenging, and losses could knock this team from Big Ten contender status to just another good team in the conference.

Truly elite teams win difficult games. Even with a great resume to this point, the Terps still have questions to answer before reaching this level.

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