By Hawk Fanatic

The depleted Iowa men’s basketball team lived by three in the first half against No. 25 Maryland on Sunday, but then died by the three in second half.

After making 8-of-14 shots from three in the first half, Iowa missed all 13 of its shots from behind the arc in the second half as Maryland outscored Iowa 54-24 in the second half and cruised to a 101-75 victory at the XFINITY Center in College Park, Maryland

The 101 points is the most points that Maryland has ever scored in a Big Ten game.

Iowa, which led 51-47 at halftime, fell to 14-11 overall and 5-9 in the Big Ten and will face Oregon Wednesday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, while Maryland improved to 20-6 and 10-5.

Sophomore forward Pryce Sandfort led Iowa in scoring with 15 points, but he only scored two points in the second half, while sophomore forward Seydou Traore and senior forward Payton Sandfort both finished with 14 points. However, Traore struggled with foul problems and was held scoreless in the second half.

Junior guard Josh Dix, who scored 26 points in the 84-73 win at Rutgers this past Wednesday, was held to five points in Sunday’s loss on 2-of-10 shooting from the field.

Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery was asked on the Learfield post-game radio show what caused his team to unravel in the second half on both ends of the floor.

“We started quick shooting the ball,” Fran McCaffery said. “And that’s what is disappointing because it’s not the first time it has happened.”

Iowa played Sunday’s game without four scholarship players, including starting forward Owen Freeman, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, and starting point guard Drew Thelwell due to injuries.

Senior center Riley Mulvey also didn’t play in Sunday’s game.

Iowa trailed by nine points (24-15) early in the first half, but answered with an 8-0 scoring run followed by a 9-0 scoring run. The 9-0 scoring run was capped by a Pryce Sandfort three that gave Iowa a 36-31 lead with 5 minutes, 52 seconds left in the first half.

Maryland trimmed the deficit to 43-42, but then Iowa closed the first half on a 8-4 scoring run to elad 51-47 at the  break.

The Hawkeyes made 8-of-14 shots from 3-point range in the first half as the Sandfort brother combined to make five of them led by Pryce Sandfort with three.

Iowa also had just five turnovers in the first half after having three in the opening minutes of the game, while Maryland committed 11 turnovers min the first half.

Traore led Iowa in scoring in the first half with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Pryce Sandfort also reached double figures in the first half with 13 points.

The 51 points that Iowa scored was the most points that Maryland has allowed in a half in three years.

Maryland then started the second half on a 8-0 scoring run, causing Fran McCaffery to call a timeout with 18:22 left to play.

The Terrapins would go on to outscore Iowa 23-4 to start the second half, building a double-digit lead that would grow to a 31-point lead.

The good news for Iowa is that its next two games against Oregon and Washington are both at home.

“We go home for two and we played really well for one game and a half,” Fran McCaffery said of the games against Rutgers and Maryland. “We’ve got to lean from what happened in the second half tonight and we’ve got to be better.”