Maryland is just a putrid stain for us right now. If someone told me a few years ago BU would potentially go undefeated against Juwan Howard, win 4 straight against MSU & win 3 straight in Madison but somehow go 2-7 against Maryland in that time I'd say no chance in hell
I agree heartily with you that Maryland is a putrid stain. Period. Not simply for us.
I saw this quote over the weekend that someone posted after Purdue crushed them in College Park earlier this month and, having enjoyed the friendly confines of the Xfinity
Gulag Center many times over the past decade, upvote it enthusiastically:
“Maryland’s crowd is a mean-spirited bully, and Purdue gave them a two-hour, well-deserved wedgie.”
I don't see a pattern of puzzling losses to Maryland during BU's tenure. Here's the stat sheet:
2017-18: We were awful. They were medicore. Played them once, @ home, lost by one point and in OT to boot
2018-19: We were slightly less awful. They finished three games out of first. We played them once, they were ranked #13, and we upset them in MSG by 11.
2019-20: We were dramatically better by the end of the season, ~ even with them, but inferior to them early. We finished a game out of first. They shared the title. In the BT opener we led them in College Park for 39:55 and lost by one on Cowan's dagger. They were #3 and we were unranked. Then we lost to them @ home. They were #9 and we were #20.
2020-21: We were much better than they were. Lost at home, ranked #12, by three. This is the only loss in the entire string, besides last Sunday's, that is puzzling.
2021-22: Were were much better than they were. Beat them at home. Lost two weeks later at College Park, with Kofi on the bench (having been beaned by Edey several days earlier), several guys ill, and the team having exhausted itself in that preceding, epic OT loss to Purdue on MLK Day.. Despite that, we were right there with them until the final five mins.
2022-23: We finished dead even with them. Played them only once. They (#22) beat us (#16) by a nose in the BT opener in College Park, when Epps missed a three that could have put us ahead in the final minute.
2023-24: Let us not speak of it henceforth.
In this entire 2-7 string I see precisely two losses that we should have avoided: this past Sunday and @ home in Jan '21. And two shocking Illini upsets that we missed by one point each.
Back to that earlier quote: let's Purdue them on February 17.