Tag: Maryland Terrapins

Big Ten update: Michigan State, Maryland wins set up huge showdown

Michigan State and Maryland meet Saturday

It was a dramatic night in Big Ten basketball on Tuesday. While many Americans were focusing on numerical totals in New Hampshire, Maryland and Michigan State scored narrow wins on the hardwood. The Terrapins beat Nebraska by two, and Michigan State defeated Illinois by one on the road. These two results put Maryland at the top of the Big Ten, with Penn State in second and Michigan State close behind in third.

Guess which two teams meet this Saturday in East Lansing? Yup. The Terps and Spartans will duel for positioning in the top tier of the Big Ten with Penn State, as the race for the regular-season championship heads for the home stretch.

The Illinois run is over… not just because the Illini have lost consecutive home games, but because star Ayo Dosunmu got injured. He is certain to miss some time. How much is less certain. Nevertheless, that’s enough to write off Illinois for the Big Ten title. The Illini are still likely to make the NCAA Tournament, but the conference race is now very different.

What adds to the drama surrounding Michigan State and Maryland is that this upcoming Saturday’s game in East Lansing is merely the first of two between the schools in the next month. The reunion in College Park will be on Saturday, Feb. 29 (yes, this is a leap year!).

Penn State owns victories over both Maryland and Michigan State, so the Nittany Lions would probably prefer a split in these two upcoming games between the Terps and Spartans. Penn State is the foremost remaining example of a non-traditional Big Ten basketball school having a chance to win the regular season league title and shock the nation. Rutgers fell off the pace due to its inability to win road games in the conference. Yet, for all the talk (warranted, but possibly overplayed) about the Big Ten being turned upside-down this season, the final weeks of conference play will be largely defined by two schools with significant basketball histories and traditions: Maryland and Michigan State.

Tuesday’s results were merely a prelude for Saturday’s huge game and the other showdowns still to come in the conference’s regular-season schedule.

Maryland at Illinois college basketball odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Friday’s Maryland Terrapins at Illinois Fighting Illini sports betting odds and lines, with college basketball picks and bets.

The Maryland Terrapins (18-4) visit the Illinois Fighting Illini (16-6) in a key Friday night meeting at State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET. We analyze the Maryland-Illinois odds and betting lines, with college basketball betting advice and tips around this matchup.

Maryland at Illinois: Three things you need to know

1. The ninth-ranked (USA Today Sports Coaches Poll) Terrapins and 21st-ranked Illini are tied atop the Big Ten standings at 8-3. Maryland beat Illinois 59-58 in College Park Dec. 7, and the Terps have won five games (all in-conference affairs) in a row after losing 4-of-7 from mid-December to mid-January. The Illini are coming off a road loss at Iowa Sunday. That loss snapped a seven-game winning streak. Illinois heads into Friday’s game having won seven straight at home.

2. The Fighting Illini have out-rebounded five of their last six opponents. Illinois’ work on the offensive glass — where the team ranks sixth in the nation — is a difference-maker. Maryland is a solid rebounding team but its edge in that facet of the game has waned in recent weeks. Recent against the spread losses have been tied to opponent success on the offensive boards.

3. A note from small-samplesville: Over the last two seasons, Maryland is 1-3 against the spread in Friday games away from home. What stands out in a look at those games is the Terps have flopped in the losses (big margins of defeat, a near loss to Harvard). Dovetailing off that, the 2019-20 Terrapins are 0-3 ATS away from home after playing two-plus games at home.

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Maryland at Illinois: Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:15 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Illinois 67, Maryland 63

Moneyline (ML)

No lean here with the pricing. PASS. (Illinois -161, Maryland +135).

Against the Spread (ATS)

Illinois is 5-2 ATS over its last seven home games and 5-2 ATS against teams allowing fewer than 65 points per game. Maryland has beaten the spread in six straight, and the Terps’ in-game leads don’t support that level of success. The line here (or at least the price) brings in in some recency bias: TAKE ILLINOIS (-3, -110).

Over/Under (O/U)

The Over is 5-3 in Maryland road games and 5-1 in Illinois’ last six home games against a team with a winning road record. Maryland’s ability to get to the line and score without using much time helps tip this one into 130-point territory.

TAKE OVER 126.5 (-150).

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Ohio State wrestling dismantled Maryland Friday night

The Ohio State wrestling team put it on the Maryland Terrapins Friday night, winning in dominant fashion 43-3.

The Ohio State wrestling team may not be having the type of year it has been accustomed to over the last few years, but it can still throw its weight around from time-to-time. That’s exactly what happened Friday night in a dual meet at home against Maryland.

The No. 3 rated Buckeyes won every single match but one and compiled an impressive 43-3 team win — one shocked full of bonus points. All told, Ohio State amassed a whopping 53 takedowns, winning four matches by technical fall, two by way of a major decision, and two more with pins.

The only match the Buckeyes failed to take care of was a two-point loss by Jordan Decatur at 133 lbs, but even that was a close 10-8 result. It was pure domination by the Buckeyes.

With the team win, Ohio State improves to 9-2 on the year. It’ll next take on Nebraska at 1:00 PM Sunday as it continues to push towards the postseason.

Iowa at Maryland college basketball odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Thursday’s Iowa Hawkeyes at Maryland Terrapins sports betting odds and lines, with college basketball betting picks and best bets

The Iowa Hawkeyes (15-5) visit the Maryland Terrapins (16-4) Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET in a Big Ten battle at Xfinity Center in College Park, MD. We analyze the Iowa-Maryland odds and betting lines, with college basketball betting advice and tips around this matchup.

Iowa at Maryland: Three things you need to know

  1. Iowa beat Maryland by 18 points (67-49) in Iowa City Jan. 10. The 18th-ranked team in the USA Today Sports Coaches Poll has bombed its way to four straight victories since. Over the five-game win streak, Iowa has shot 37.7% from beyond the 3-point arc.
  2. No. 15 Maryland allowed an aggregate 52% field-goal accuracy mark (and a 46% mark from 3-point-land) over its last two games, both losses on the road. That’s part of a trend that has seen the Terrapins defense struggle away from home. But recent home games? Maryland has held foes to 36%, 31% and 36%, respectively, over its last three contests in College Park.
  3. Junior C Luka Garza scored 21 points against the Terps when Iowa and Maryland last met. He has scored 20-plus in four straight games since and has averaged 26 points per game over the five-game span. Garza has had some big road games this season and will be a key performer Thursday.

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Iowa at Maryland: Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 9 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Maryland 73, Iowa 67

Moneyline (ML)

PASS. Iowa (+200) is the lean, but its a line bracketed by a juice cushion without much value.

Against the Spread (ATS)

Iowa is 4-0-2 against the spread over its last six games against teams playing .600 basketball. Over the last five meetings between these two programs, the underdog is 4-1.

The Hawkeyes carry in solid momentum, and the IOWA (+5.5, -106) line is a slight lean. But Maryland has a strong home-court advantage. In a game where the Under is advisable (see below), a line-watch for a +6 would be a wise move. If it’s not there, move on.

Over/Under (O/U)

The Under is 4-0 in the Hawkeyes’ last four games as a road favorite, 6-2 in Iowa’s last eight vs. winning teams,  5-1 in the Terrapins’ last six home games and 6-2 in Maryland’s last eight games as an underdog.

This is a fast-paced team (Iowa) against one wanting to slow things down (Maryland). Including their Jan. 10 game against the Terps, the Under has prevailed the last three times Iowa played a slow-down team. The UNDER 145.5 (-110) has value — enough so for a moderate play.

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Wisconsin’s win over Maryland carries an important reminder

A teaching moment after the Badgers beat Maryland

You might get tired of reading the same — or at least, similar — themes in the coverage of the Wisconsin Badgers’ basketball season. Yet, if you have ever taken a class in sports journalism, you know that this business involves saying the same things over the course of a season. The trick in this profession is to try to use fresh language or an original perspective (if not both) in the attempt to convey familiar themes and describe enduring realities in a team’s journey from November to March (or in football, late August to early January).

One theme we have repeated a lot at Badgers Wire in recent weeks is the penchant for Wisconsin to have only two double-figure scorers per game, and for the need to create at least three double-figure scorers per game. We hit on this after the Illinois loss. We noted that Wisconsin did generate three double-figure scorers against Penn State, but that the second- and third-leading scorers had just 11 and 10 points.

Guess what? Against Maryland, Wisconsin once again produced three double-figure scorers, but this time, the second- and third-leading scorers both had 14 points. Three scorers posted at least 14 on the board for the Badgers. That is better than what we have seen in the Badgers’ previous 16 games, adjusted to the level of competition. (In other words, we’re not focused on cupcake games, just the formidable opponents.)

The point being made here is not just about the need to have more players contributing, which everyone can readily understand. The more precise lesson to take away from the Maryland win is that with three effective offensive threats, not two, it was harder for the Terrapins and coach Mark Turgeon to defend the Badgers at the very end.

Who was going to get the ball for Wisconsin? Brad Davison would up taking and making the winning shot, but Nate Reuvers had to be considered. From more options come more problems for the opposition. From more diversity comes more leverage in late-game situations.

I promise not to harp on this theme more than necessary, but on a team without a dominant “takeover” player — a cutthroat superstar who stops everyone else and says, “This is MY game; climb aboard!” — Wisconsin needs more diverse scoring production.

The next frontier: four double-figure scorers per game. Let’s see if the Badgers can get there. They will be even tougher to defend late in games.

Three Maryland players Badger fans need to know

Wisconsin plays hosts to the No. 17 Maryland Terrapins on Tuesday evening. Badger fans should be sure to know these three opposing players.

After picking up a critical road win against the No. 20 Penn State Nittany Lions over the weekend, Wisconsin (10-6) will look to keep the momentum going tonight when it hosts No. 17 Maryland (13-3) at the Kohl Center.

The Badgers and Terrapins split their two meetings last year, with the former getting the last laugh in a 69-61 February victory in Madison.

Maryland started off this season hot by winning its first 10 contests before stumbling in consecutive away games at Penn State and Seton Hall last month. Since then, head coach Mark Turgeon’s squad has won three of its last four, though the Terps were blown out the last time they took the court in Iowa City, falling to the Hawkeyes 67-49.

You have to feel pretty good about Bucky’s chances in this one at home coming off of a huge victory, but it’s going to be a battle: Maryland has got some major star power on this roster, including two of the Big Ten’s best players.

With that being said, here are the three players on the other side who Badger fans should keep a close eye on throughout tonight’s contest.

Anthony Cowan Jr. – Guard

Current stats: 16.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.2 spg, 38.8 FG%, 34.4 3P%

A four-year starter at point guard for the Terrapins, Cowan is the heart and soul of this team.

The 6-0 senior from Bowie, Md. has enjoyed a prolific career in College Park and is in the midst of an excellent final season as a collegian. Cowan has looked like a potential All-American thus far, leading Maryland in points, assists and steals per game and ranking fifth in the Big Ten in the former two categories. He was recently named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 list and should be a top contender for the Cousy Award, given to the nation’s top floor general.

Cowan averaged 17.5 points in his two games against the Badgers last year, though he shot a combined 26.8 percent from the field in doing so.

Jalen Smith – Forward

Current stats: 13.3 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2.3 bpg, 50.7 FG%, 36.7 3P%

Dec 19, 2019; Newark, NJ, USA; Maryland Terrapins forward Jalen Smith (25) drives to the basket against Seton Hall Pirates guard Myles Cale (22) and center Romaro Gill (35) during the first half at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

After being named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team a season ago, Smith has taken the next step and is playing like an all-conference level player and a potential first-round selection in this year’s NBA draft.

Yet another formidable big man the Badgers must go up against in a Big Ten slate chock-full of them, the former five-star recruit out of Baltimore has made his presence felt on both ends of the floor this season. Smith is Maryland’s No. 2 scorer and leads the team in both blocks and rebounds per game, ranking No. 3 and No. 5 in the Big Ten, respectively, in the latter two categories.

Aaron Wiggins – Guard

Current stats: 10.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.1 spg, 35.0 FG%, 28.7 3P%

After a nice freshman campaign coming off of the bench, Wiggins was considered a major breakout candidate with NBA draft pick-type potential leading into this season. However, the 6-6 guard has struggled a bit through Maryland’s first half.

Wiggins provides great value defensively and on the glass, but where the Terrapins really need him to step up if they are to reach their ceiling this year is as a shooter.

Granted, he is third on the team in points per game and has reached double figures in 10 of Maryland’s 16 outings, but his efficiency has taken a dive this year. His poor shooting from long range has been especially disappointing after he was one of the Big Ten’s top marksmen (41.3 percent) as a freshman.

Wiggins is probably Maryland’s X factor. He may have yet to hit his groove, but sometimes all it takes is one breakout performance for shooters like him to take off. If/when he does, the Terrapins will become significantly more dangerous than they already are. Perhaps that performance comes in Madison this evening.

Maryland reminds us that history offers no guarantees

Maryland basketball

The history and tradition of Nebraska football have meant nothing since January of 2002, when the Cornhuskers played — and lost to — Miami for the national championship.

The history and tradition of Maryland basketball have meant nothing since April of 2002, when the Terrapins played — and defeated — Indiana for their first national championship.

It is a fascinating and puzzling reality: Maryland rose to the top of college basketball and seemingly could do no wrong in the early spring of 2002.

Not only have the Terps not been back to the Final Four in any subsequent year; they haven’t even made the Elite Eight once. They have made two Sweet 16s. They have never been seeded higher than No. 4 in the NCAA Tournament. Even when Maryland reached the Sweet 16 in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, the Terrapins underachieved. They had the raw talent of a No. 2 or No. 1 seed, but didn’t mesh on the court. Kansas handled Maryland relatively easily in the Sweet 16, 79-63. A frustrating season came to an end.

Imagine being in the old Georgia Dome (a building which no longer exists) on that Monday night in 2002 when Maryland won the national title. Imagine having someone come up to you and say that the Terrapins would not make another Elite Eight or earn a top-three NCAA Tournament seed in the next 17 years. You would have told that person s/he was completely crazy and needed to get clinical help. Yet, here we are.

Maryland played in the 1974 ACC Tournament final, one of the best and most important college basketball games of all time. That game was a winner-take-all play-in game for the NCAA Tournament. The small size of the field at that time prevented “at-large” teams from representing Power Five conferences. The ACC sent only its tournament champion into the NCAA Tournament. Seeing how great Maryland played in a close loss to North Carolina State, the NCAA realized how dumb it was to deprive second-place teams in conferences of a tournament berth.

Eleven years after that 1974 ACC Tournament final, the NCAA Tournament had more than doubled in size to 64 teams. Maryland helped the NCAA Tournament become what it is today. Maryland owns a significant place in the evolution of America’s favorite bracketed basketball tournament.

After that seminal 1974 season, Maryland made several NCAA Tournament appearances under Lefty Driesell. The Terps were responsible for the tournament’s expanded size, and they used that expansion to become a regular part of March Madness. They earned top-three NCAA seeds on multiple occasions. Then, after a few down years in the late 1980s, Gary Williams came aboard in late 1989 and restored the program. Maryland made the NCAAs in 11 straight years, with 2002 being the zenith. Maryland was a top-three seed in the NCAA Tournament in five of those 11 years. This program had arrived.

It is jarring how barren the trophy case has been since 2002. It is also a jolt to the senses to realize that Maryland hasn’t had a top-three seed since its national championship. Yet, another part of the story of Maryland’s failures this century is the struggle of head coach Mark Turgeon.

On paper, Turgeon has everything a coach could possibly want: He was coached by Larry Brown at Kansas. He made the Sweet 16 at Wichita State. He turned Texas A&M into a regular NCAA Tournament team. He ascended the ranks. He built toward a Cadillac job. His progression was unmistakable. Maryland was supposed to be the culmination of his career and the place where Turgeon cemented his college basketball legacy.

It has never worked out that way… and more precisely, it has never been especially close to becoming reality. This season, Maryland offers no indication that a return to glory is just around the corner.

If the second half of the 20th century suggested that Maryland would be a 21st-century force in college basketball, and that Wisconsin would be a non-factor in college hoops, history has offered a reminder in the first 20 years of the new century: It hardly offers guarantees. The course of human events can — and does — change sharply.

Maryland is just another Big Ten team (Wisconsin should beat)

Maryland-Wisconsin

College basketball polls mean very little. I don’t pay especially close attention to them, chiefly because — unlike football — basketball championships have no relationship to polls. Teams ranked No. 25 in the polls right before Selection Sunday have sometimes missed the NCAA Tournament. A relatively recent example: SMU in 2014.

If polls do have value, it is that they show when teams are overrated or undervalued at the start of a season. One of the foremost examples of a team which was overrated at the start of the 2019-2020 season is Maryland. The Terrapins were No. 7 in the preseason poll and rose to No. 3. Can someone please explain why? Maryland opened its season with five games which were either cupcakes or moderately challenging games against non-cupcake teams. The Terrapins beat a decent Temple team on Nov. 28, then handled Marquette by 21 on Dec. 1, their most complete performance of the season. They were taking care of business, but they had no high-end wins. Was it their fault that they moved up to No. 3? Of course not. Nevertheless, it was striking that Maryland was given elite status before it earned it.

Since Maryland moved to No. 3, two basic things have happened to the Terrapins:

  1. They have finally had to play true road games, as opposed to neutral-site games.
  2. They lost all three of those true road games: Seton Hall, Penn State, and most recently, at Iowa.

Wins over Illinois and Ohio State have Maryland on course to make the NCAA Tournament, but as far as 13-3 records go, this one is relatively thin. Bryant, Holy Cross, Fairfield, and George Mason are part of a lot of modest victories on the ledger sheet. Nothing has happened this season to suggest that the Terrapins are a top-tier team, and their latest game might be the most searing indictment of all.

Iowa did not have C.J. Fredrick in the lineup for this past Friday’s game against the Terps. Fredrick was out with a foot injury, which seemed to be a huge loss for the Hawkeyes, who greatly benefited from his 3-point shooting. Without perimeter help, Iowa star center Luka Garza was all alone in Iowa’s previous game, a bad loss to lowly Nebraska. Iowa hit just 4 of 33 threes with Fredrick out. Garza couldn’t carry the team himself. This was the vulnerable squad Maryland played on Friday. If Maryland was anything close to a top-10 team, it would have marched into Carver-Hawkeye Arena and thumped the Hawkeyes.

Final score: Iowa 67, Maryland 49. The Terps were AWOL on offense, hoisting bad shots and being outworked for position at every spot on the floor. The Hawkeyes got more 50-50 balls. They worked the ball to the basket. They ran Maryland ragged. The Terrapins are an NCAA Tournament team in a season when North Carolina will very likely miss the Big Dance and Purdue is in big trouble. That’s the good news for the Terps. However, they appear to be little more than an underwhelming No. 7-9 seed despite its lofty early-season rankings.

Maryland is just another Big Ten team. The good news is that Wisconsin can very easily outhustle and grind down the Terps. The bad news is that if Wisconsin becomes the first home team to lose to Maryland this season, the Badgers will have to wonder why they have suddenly lost their home-court edge. They will also lament their inability to pounce on vulnerable opponents.

Wisconsin should win this game. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. A certain degree of confidence should flow from that realization. However, the inability to seize this opportunity will reaffirm the uncomfortable themes of a noticeably unsteady season in Madison.

How to Watch Maryland vs. Iowa, NCAA Basketball Live Stream, Schedule, TV Channel, Start Time

Watch Maryland vs. Iowa Live Online.

After a strong non-conference showing, the Maryland Terrapins and Iowa Hawkeyes find themselves at opposite ends of the Big Ten standings in the early stages of conference play. With the Terrapins near the top of the league and Iowa near the bottom, the Hawkeyes will look to get back on track in the Big Ten when they play host for this conference showdown.

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Maryland vs. Iowa

  • When: Friday, January 10
  • Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
  • TV: FS1
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

Maryland picked up its third straight win in its last contest, beating a ranked Ohio State team 67-55 at home. Anthony Cowan Jr. paced the Terrapins, pouring on 20 points in the victory, including 10 points from the free throw line. The difference in the game came at the three-point line with Maryland shooting 8-for-18 from three compared to a 5-for-27 effort from long range for the Buckeyes. Maryland has yet to win a true road game this season, going 0-2 in enemy territory.

Iowa lost its second straight game earlier in the week, falling 76-70 on the road to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Despite 21 points from Joe Wieskamp, the Hawkeyes could not get the job done in Lincoln, with three-point shooting being a big reason why. Iowa went 4-for-33 from deep range, which proved to be insurmountable. Center Luka Garza leads Iowa in scoring on the year with over 22 points per game. Getting him more involved could be a priority in this matchup.

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Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann Maryland postgame press conference

Ohio State basketball head coach Chris Holtmann met with the media to discuss the loss to Maryland. Watch his complete comments here.

Ohio State dropped its third decision in a row Tuesday night, getting beat in a physical and defensive-minded Big Ten contest against the Maryland Terrapins. It was a rough night with poor shooting, turnovers and a lack of toughness that has continued to creep into the team culture here as of late.

Head coach Chris Holtmann met with the media after the game in College Park to discuss what happened on the court. You can watch and listen to all of his postgame comments courtesy of Adam Jardy of the Columbus Dispatch. Just click on the below link and have a listen.

Holtmann discusses his team’s shooting woes, shot selection, toughness and more.