The Iowa men’s basketball team saw its winning streak end at nine as it fell to Maryland, 74-68, on Jan. 28 in the Hawkeyes’ latest top-10 matchup.

Maryland won the opening tip, and although the Hawkeyes only trailed 41-35 at the half, Maryland appeared to shut down every aspect of the Hawkeyes’ game plan.

The Terrapins held Iowa senior and Player of the Year candidate Jarrod Uthoff without a field goal for the first 20 minutes, which proved to be the biggest factor in the halftime score.

While Uthoff struggled, Maryland featured the resurgence of Rasheed Sulaimon, who scored 11 in the first half, and Jake Layman and Robert Carter added 9 points each to put the Terps ahead, although the deficit seemed manageable.

Sulaimon played the biggest role. After a strong outing in Maryland’s domination of Ohio State, the senior Duke transfer disappeared for two games before erupting in the first half against the Hawkeyes.

“They got some guys with some size, and I think they were locked in as a group,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said.

With Uthoff struggling, the Hawkeye offense stalled in the first half. Iowa missed an uncharacteristic number of open 3-pointers and lacked the patience they’ve showed on offense so far this season.

Still, a manageable deficit led to the Hawkeyes keeping things close for most of the second half.

Uthoff made his first field goal at the 18-minute mark, but it proved to be just a footnote in the box score as the Hawkeyes could not complete a comeback.

Despite leading at various times, the Hawkeyes struggled to take any command of the game.

Iowa shot just 5-of-24 from behind the arc as it continued on the path it started in the first half, an inability to make shots and rushed offensive possessions.

“We have to move the ball better; we can’t turn it over,” McCaffery said. “Got to make our free throws, got to rebound better.”

Although neither team shot the ball particularly well (Maryland shot just 6-of-25 from behind the arc), the rough night the Hawkeyes had sealed the final score.

Uthoff finished with 9 points, fewer than half his average of 18.9, and Adam Woodbury logged 11 points and 10 rebounds, his third-straight double-double before fouling out on a questionable call. Peter Jok finished with 14 to lead the Hawkeyes.

Emblematic of the rest of the game was how the last minute and a half of the game went.

Maryland called a time-out with 1:34 left. Out of the break, Layman found freshman center Diamond Stone wide open a foot from the basket.

Stone put down a furious dunk to put the Terrapins up 64-60. Then, Melo Trimble stole the ball from Mike Gesell and tossed it to Layman, who found a cutting Jared Nickens for an easy lay-up.

Facing a 66-60 deficit with a minute left, Dom Uhl hit a lay-up to cut the lead to 4. Anthony Clemmons, who had Iowa’s best performance, fouled Sulaimon, and Sulaimon made just one of his two free throws.

But the effort was too little, too late for the Hawkeyes. Iowa continued missing shots while Maryland continued to make free throws.

When the Hawkeyes needed 3-point baskets the most, they elected to go for quick 2s. Eventually, however, the clock struck zero.

Gesell elected to shoot 2-point jumper with the Hawkeyes trailing 69-62 and 18 seconds left on the clock. He did the same thing with 11 seconds left, his lay-up cutting the lead to 70-66.

The trend continued all the way to the end, as Maryland handed the Hawkeyes their first loss in Big Ten play and their fourth of the season.

“In crunch time, we didn’t rebound, even when we did get them to miss,” McCaffery said. “They executed better than we did for consistent stretches.”

Next up: Northwestern

The Hawkeyes will turn their attention to Northwestern.

The Wildcats have never made the NCAA Tournament, although a win over the Hawkeyes would certainly help the Wildcats’ cause.

Northwestern has also fallen to Maryland, 62-56, in College Park, Maryland, and a 72-59 defeat in Evanston, Illinois. Its record includes an 89-57 loss to Indiana in Bloomington. The Wildcats are 3-5 in the Big Ten, although they have beaten Wisconsin.