When Maryland lost by two points at Purdue on Dec. 6, coach Mark Turgeon’s biggest point leaving Mackey Arena was how young his team played, particularly with the game on the line.
A little more than two months later, the Big Ten’s youngest team showed how much it had grown up.
Faced with an 11-point deficit to the No. 12 Boilermakers and sophomore center Bruno Fernando in foul trouble in the second half Tuesday, three of Maryland’s freshmen showed how good the No. 24 Terps can be.
Led by forward Jalen Smith, guard Eric Ayala and wing Aaron Wiggins, Maryland erased the deficit as the freshmen trio combined to score 21 straight Terps points and finished off a 70-56 victory over Purdue on a 20-6 run.