COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The numbers were clear. Defining, even. They could predict the odds of the 2015-16 Purdue Boilermakers winning a basketball game with something like near certainty. They said this:
When Purdue holds its opponent to fewer than 70 points, it wins. Period.
The tall, physical, deliberate Boilermakers got to keep that stat for their troubles Saturday, if only barely. Maryland -- thanks to key buckets from Robert Carter, on-point passing from Melo Trimble, and their own brand of elite defensive work, the No. 4-ranked Terrapins -- was happy to take home a 72-61 win instead.