West Lafayette, Ind. — Blame UConn's quick exit from the NCAA tournament on dreadful shooting, postseason inexperience or just a bad matchup.

Maybe it was more like all of the above as far as explaining an ugly 63-54 East Region first round loss to tenth-seeded Maryland on Saturday night at Purdue's Mackey Arena.

The bitter season-ending defeat is even harder for No. 7 UConn to digest because of its performance.

The Huskies fell flat on the March Madness stage. They had hoped for so much more in their first postseason trip in five years.

"You're gutted here right now," coach Dan Hurley said. "Really disappointed. This wasn't how I envisioned losing this one. If we lost, I was expecting us to perform better under the lights. Like a UConn team would normally do in these types of situations.

"... There were a lot of guys in that locker room that are feeling just really disappointed in how we played. They're just stunned that we didn't play better."

Maryland (17-13) and its smothering defense had a lot to do with that.

The Huskies (15-8) left their shooting shoes back in Storrs, converting a season-low 32.3 percent and also finishing with a season low for points. They trailed by as many as 14 in the second half and got as close as five with three minutes left before flaming out.

Star guard James Bouknight couldn't save the Huskies, as he went just 6 for 16 from the field and scored a team-high 15 points while receiving special attention from Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Darryl Morsell. Projected to be an NBA first round draft pick, Bouknight will have a decision to make regarding his future during the offseason.

"James is a sophomore, which is still a young player in college basketball," Hurley said. "This was a big spot. Morsell is an excellent defender. ... He was a little bit indecisive at times. Overall, as a group, we showed our lack of experience in a moment like this."

Sophomore Jalen Gaffney was the only other UConn player to hit double figures, scoring 12 points. Redshirt junior R.J Cole and junior Tyrese Martin (11 rebounds) combined for just 11 points on 4 for 22 shooting.

A veteran Maryland team battle-tested from competing in the Big Ten exposed UConn's every weakness. The Terrapins started hot and stayed that way, shooting 51 percent overall and 50 percent (9 for 18) from three against the Big East leader in scoring defense. They also had the best player on the floor in junior Eric Ayala, a former Putnam Science Academy player who had a game-high 23 points.

"Big credit to Maryland," Hurley said. "Those guys, in particular offensively, they played a great first probably 28-30 minutes, shot the cover off it. They showed their experience, their quality. Ayala, we were scared to death of that matchup. We didn't have anyone that could guard him. Those guys are a really seasoned well-coached team and really earned the win.

"We battled. We played the way we played the whole year. I wish we would have guarded better."

Hurley also wished his team would have capitalized better on 22 offensive rebounds, which generated just 11 points.

UConn's first possession of the game was a sign of things to come.

After senior Isaiah Whaley missed two free throws, the Huskies grabbed the offensive rebound and missed, grabbed another rebound and missed, and grabbed one more and missed again.

It had a demoralizing effect on the Huskies.

"It's really frustrating when you get a lot of offensive rebounds and not really a lot of points from it," Whaley said.

Frustration also mounted with every missed shot from the perimeter, in the lane and under the basket.

In the first half, the Huskies were a dreadful 9 for 39 from the field. They scored only one field goal in the final 7:55 and trailed 33-22 at the break and led for the last time when Gaffney banked in a 3-pointer for a 19-18 edge.

The Terps surged ahead for good with a 10-0 run late in the first half, hitting three straight 3-pointers, including one by Aaron Wiggins (14 points).

In the second half, UConn showed some life, scoring four straight points on Bouknight's driving basket and freshman Adama Sanogo's inside move to slice the deficit to 33-26.

But the Huskies couldn't sustain any momentum.

They had one more burst, as Bouknight's basket brought UConn to within 53-48 with 2:53 remaining. But the Huskies missed three of four free throw attempts and the Terps made four straight from the line to increase their advantage to nine.

Maryland moves on to play No. 2 Alabama on Monday in the second round.

"It's really tough," Whaley said about the season-ending loss. "It feels weird. It feels like the season hasn't ended yet."

It was a difficult ending to a season that UConn took big steps forward as a program in Hurley's third season in Storrs. The Huskies dealt with three COVID-19 related pauses and injuries to key players.

"This year was a huge success for us," Hurley said. "It doesn't feel like it right now because you're devastated with the way the evening went."

g.keefe@theday.com

Follow Gavin Keefe on Twitter during the NCAA tournament at @gavinkeefe.