Counting down the top-seven moments of Anthony Cowan Jr.’s career at Maryland

Over the past four years, Anthony Cowan Jr. has produced a historic career for Maryland men’s basketball. And on Sunday, the Bowie, Maryland, native will play his last game at Xfinity Center.

The senior guard currently sits at seventh on Maryland’s all time scoring list with 1,861 career points to his name. He has the fifth-most assists (576), third-most made triples (306) and is tied with Albert King for the fourth-most double-figure games (106) in program history. Cowan holds the school record for most consecutive starts and is four made free-throws away from passing Keith Booth for first in that category as well.

In addition to making his mark on the Terp record books, Cowan is just the second player in Big Ten history — and the only active player — with at least 1800 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists, joining Talor Battle.

But with the regular season about to come to a close, Cowan has mentioned multiple times that the only accolade he wants at the end of this season is a national championship ring on his finger.

With his senior day approaching against No. 25 Michigan Sunday, it was only appropriate to look back on Cowan’s career for the Terps and pinpoint his greatest moments from his illustrious college career, thus far.

*This list was ordered by date*

Nov. 14, 2017: Cowan leads the Terps defeat Butler

Stat line: 25 points, 5 assists, 10 rebounds and 2 steals

Throwing it back to Cowan’s sophomore year, this game was one of his best performances of that season, one in which the Terps underachieved tremendously given the talent on their roster.

Maryland welcomed Butler to Xfinity Center as part of the Gavitt Games, and Cowan was locked in from the start. He was an extremely efficient 5-for-8 from the field during this one and also got to the free-throw line with ease. Cowan finished this one 12-for-15 from the charity stripe.

The most surprising statistic from this game was Cowan’s 10 rebounds. For a guard standing at just 6’0, this was quite an impressive feat from Cowan, and one that is still his career high.

Cowan became the first Terp since Greivis Vasquez to put up a game with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Jan. 14, 2019: Cowan’s clutch shot lifts Terps over Wisconsin

Stat line: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals

One word that defines Cowan’s career at Maryland is clutch, as he always comes up big in big moments. In this game against the Badgers, Cowan rose to the occasion and helped the Terps avoid a tough defeat on their home floor.

Maryland led Wisconsin by a score of 33-15 when halftime hit in this one. The Terps had to have been feeling really good about their first half performance, but Wisconsin came out on fire in the second half.

The Badgers fought and clawed their way back into this game, taking a 60-59 lead late in the second half. After missed shots by both teams following the Badgers taking the advantage, Maryland got a possession with around 40 seconds left and took it down to the final seconds on the shot clock.

After being denied in the post, Bruno Fernando kicked it out to Aaron Wiggins, who then gave it right up to the star point guard. Cowan got the ball, pulled up from the top of the key and hit nothing but net to give the Terps a 62-60 lead late.

Maryland went on to win this game 64-60 after Cowan’s big shot.

This situation might have looked awfully familiar to Terp fans watching at the time, as Melo Trimble had been in a very similar situation on the road against Wisconsin almost three years ago to that day. Trimble hit a game winning three from almost the exact same spot on the floor just like Cowan did.

Feb. 19, 2019: Cowan gives Maryland its first ranked road win of the Turgeon era

Stat line: 17 points, 8 assists and 3 rebounds

This game was not only a great showing for Cowan, but it also was a momentous win for coach Mark Turgeon as his team pulled through and gave him his first ranked win on the road while coaching at Maryland.

Cowan was absolutely huge for the Terps in this one, making big play after big play. He set a career-high for threes in a game, knocking down five three-pointers, which he later matched this season at Michigan State.

Though he only finished 5-for-15 from the field, Cowan went an impressive 5-for-10 from deep.

Cowan was also huge for the Terps in setting up his teammates in this one. He recorded eight crucial assists, like this feed below to Smith in the post.

Nov. 28 - Dec. 1, 2019: Cowan dominates the Orlando Invitational

Stat average from those three games: 24 points, 4.3 assists and 3 rebounds per game

Cowan was absolutely sensational for the Terps throughout the Orlando Invitational and almost single-handedly saved them from a loss on day one to Temple.

During that game Cowan put up a then career-high 30 points on 11-for-19 shooting from the field and 4-for-8 from deep, along with four assists. The Terps were not at their best during this game and Cowan’s effort saved them from an embarrassing loss.

The next game against Harvard was a similar story for the Terps. Maryland started slow and struggled against an inferior opponent, but Cowan was there to save the day. He finished with 20 points, five assists and three steals. Cowan also shot 3-for-5 from beyond the arc in this one.

The last game of the Orlando Invitational featured Cowan going up against another top guard in college basketball, Markus Howard.

This championship matchup saw Cowan and the Terps put together one of their best performances of the season in an 84-63 rout of Marquette. Cowan finished this game with 22 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the field, along with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. He was named tournament MVP after the game and earned his first Big Ten Player of the Week honor of his career shortly after.

Dec. 7, 2019: Cowan’s clutch three gives Terps comeback win over Illinois

Stat line: 20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals

Cowan has made so many clutch plays over the years for the Terps, but this game is up there with the Michigan State game (below) as maybe his most clutch performance ever.

Maryland trailed by as many as 15 points and looked sloppy for the majority. However, Cowan would not let the Terps be denied in this one. He did everything to will them to a win. He scored the ball, dished out assists and played great defense.

The biggest moment of the game for Cowan came with just 21 seconds left on the clock and the Terps trailing by three points. With the shot clock winding down and nowhere else to turn, Cowan pulled up from way downtown and connected to tie the game.

After hitting the massive triple, Cowan played great defense and forced a steal at the other end. Right after the steal, he was fouled and headed to the free-throw line to win the game for the Terps with just two seconds left. He hit the first one and then missed the second to let the clock expire and seal the victory for the Terps.

Jan. 30, 2020: Cowan explodes for a career-high 31 points as Terps take down Iowa

Stat line: 31 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists

In one of Maryland’s biggest games of the 2019-20 season, Cowan did not disappoint. The senior guard was a scoring machine, dropping a career-high 31 points, while also dishing out six assists and grabbing six rebounds, in the 82-72 victory over No. 18 Iowa.

Cowan got his points in a number of ways, finishing tough shots around the rim, knocking down the three ball and also getting to the free throw line with ease. He was a very efficient 9-for-15 from the field in this one and also shot 3-for-8 from deep.

This game was an all-around phenomenal performance from Cowan, and one that had so many great plays.

His most impressive play in this one (in my opinion) came early in the second half (3:45 in the video posted above). Cowan got the ball in the corner and immediately went to the rim, converting an acrobatic finish in the presence of Luka Garza.

Feb. 15, 2020: Cowan puts team on his back to take down Michigan State on the road

Stat line: 24 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals

One of Cowan’s signature and most memorable games this season is without a doubt his late game performance on the road against Michigan State.

The Terps came out of the gates firing in this one, leading by as many as 15 points in the first half.

However on a night where the Spartans hosted College GameDay and honored their 2000 championship team, they would not go down easy. Maryland slowed down in the second half and allowed Michigan State to build up a seven-point lead with a little under three and a half minutes to play.

After the Spartans captured their largest lead of the game, Jalen Smith hit a three to bring the Terps within four. Maryland then made one of many defensive stands late in this game, leading to Cowan taking over the show.

Cowan, who shot 5-of-9 from deep on the evening, went on to hit three three-pointers on the next three Maryland possessions to bring the score to 65-60 with under 30 seconds to go.

After another Michigan State miss, Cowan hit two free throws to finish the game on a personal 11-0 run and lift the Terps to a 67-60 victory.