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Bruno Fernando was a bright spot in Maryland basketball’s loss to Purdue

This is the Maryland Minute, a short story followed by a roundup of Terps-related news.

By Jared Goldstein
Maryland v Purdue Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Maryland basketball fought hard Wednesday night to around No. 3 Purdue for the majority of the game before losing 75-67. The Terps stayed in it thanks in large part to freshman Bruno Fernando’s 20-point, 10-rebound performance.

On a night in which senior seven-footer Michal Cekovsky wasn’t with the team due to a heel injury he sustained in practice this week, Fernando had what might be the best game of his short collegiate career. Twenty and 10 is impressive on any occasion, but even more so against Purdue’s duo of seven-footers Isaac Haas and Matt Haarms. Haas went for 21 and five when these teams met at the Xfinity Center in December, and is averaging 14.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Haarms, on the other hand, has more of an outside game and is much more of an emotional spark plug, much like Fernando is for the Terps.

Maryland was left with just Fernando and Sean Obi at center, and Obi fouled out with over 10 minutes left. Fernando picked up his fourth foul at the under-12 timeout, but somehow managed to not foul out against Purdue’s pair of behemoths. He also displayed a rarely seen mid-range game, knocking down a pair of jumpers, rather than banging in the post with taller and bigger opponents. It’s the kind of performance that has his name floating around NBA Draft discussions, but until they happen more frequently, and some of the clunkers in between are eliminated, those conversations may have to be put on hold.

In other news

Maryland women’s basketball returns to the Xfinity Center tonight to face Rutgers. They’ll be led by sophomore Kaila Charles, who’s one of 10 finalists for the Cheryl Miller Award given to the nation’s top small forward.

Somebody stole Red Panda’s unicycle Wednesday, but she was able to use a backup to perform in East Lansing. Here’s to hoping she has her original back by Sunday’s performance in College Park.

Four-star point guard Tyger Campbell will announce his college decision today. He released a final four of UCLA, DePaul, Purdue and Maryland earlier this week. Things aren’t looking so great for the Terps.

Maryland football is in the middle of winter workouts right now and has been releasing short hype videos each day. Here’s yesterday’s:

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