Maryland had been waiting for this opportunity. For a chance to play and beat a ranked opponent on national TV and prove to the country -- not to mention the reputable computers that have Mark Turgeon's team in the 30s -- that their 20-2 start wasn't just the byproduct of a schedule featuring few challenges to date.

And then the Terrapins blew it.

That's the most sincere way to put it.

They were up 11-2 in the opening four minutes and ahead 70-66 with 94 seconds left. But neither lead held up. And then Kevin Huerter missed a wide-open jumper as time expired that could've been Saturday's game-winner. Instead, it was just the last shot in a loss. Final score: Purdue 73, Maryland 72. So rather than being 21-2 with a win over a ranked team, Maryland is 20-3 with three home losses.

Here are three takeaways from the wild game:

1. This was a huge missed opportunity for Maryland

This defeat is going to sting Turgeon through the night. Because not only was it a winnable game lost, it cost his Terrapins a spot atop the Big Ten standings, a quality victory to carry into Selection Sunday and the national respect their fans constantly tweet they deserve. Now the skeptics who have been asking for a list of the truly impressive wins on Maryland's resume will keep asking -- and they'll be doing it more confidently and loudly. And Maryland won't play another currently ranked team until it meets Northwestern the day after Valentine's Day. And there's no guarantee Northwestern will be ranked the day after Valentine's Day.

2. Isaac Haas almost cost Purdue the win

It was a bizarre ending at the Xfinity Center. If you missed it, here's what happened: Maryland had the ball, down a point, under its own goal with 2.1 seconds remaining. Then Huerter threw the inbounds pass long -- right to Haas, who caught it and just started ... walking. As if the game were over, he started walking. But the game wasn't over. And you're not allowed to walk with the ball in basketball (unless you're Kansas wing Svi Mykhailiuk, of course). So Haas was called for traveling. Consequently, Maryland got the ball back with 0.5 left under Purdue's basket. And then Huerter ended up with clean look. But he missed it. So Purdue still won and Maryland still lost. No harm done. But, yeah, Haas was lucky. That would've been an all-timer.

3. Caleb Swanigan was awesome again

You're not going to believe this but Purdue's star got another double-double. He has 20 in 24 games after scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds at Maryland and is now averaging 19.1 points and 12.8 rebounds while shooting 54.7 percent from the field and 52.9 percent from 3-point range. The sophomore forward was fourth in last week's CBS Sports National Player of the Year rankings. And I'm starting to think that's too low. Swanigan has been college basketball's most consistently awesome player this season, period. If Purdue keeps winning, he should get serious consideration for the Wooden Award and all other national honors.