Maryland men’s basketball lost its Big Ten opener on the road against Indiana last week. With the Terps (4-4) falling well short of preseason expectations thus far, they’ll look to re-establish their identity in their conference home opener Wednesday against Penn State (4-4).
The contest will allow Maryland, a team that currently boasts a 15-game win streak inside the Xfinity Center, a chance to recalibrate against a similarly struggling opponent. The Nittany Lions — along with the Terps and Michigan — are the only three teams in the Big Ten to not hold a record above .500 as of Tuesday.
Penn State is losers of four straight — three of them were to non-Power Five teams in Bucknell, VCU and Butler. The Bucknell loss was a Quad 4 loss, while VCU was Quad 3, and the three teams combine to have the 155th-best ranking in the country, per KenPom. A ranked loss to now-No. 21 Texas A&M — a 12-point defeat on a neutral site — rounds out the four-game stretch.
First-year coach Mike Rhoades will be hungry to push his team back above .500. But Kevin Willard is just as desperately, if not more, in need of a win. At this early of a point in the season, Wednesday’s game is about as close to a must-win as one could have.
“I think we are a little bit who we are right now,” Willard said. “Defensively, we’re pretty much who we’re gonna be, but I think offensively this team’s gonna have so much more room to grow.”
The Terps went into Bloomington last Friday and laid a stinker, allowing the Hoosiers to jump out to an early lead and dominate the rest of the way for a 65-53 victory. They shot 2-for-16 from three and sub-70 percent from the free throw line, two common trends that have hampered the team all season. Maryland was also outrebounded 46-to-30, with Indiana’s size and physicality proving to be too much for the Terps to overcome.
Sophomore big man Kel’el Ware grabbed 14 rebounds of his own while leaving Maryland forward Julian Reese in foul trouble all night long — he finished with four personals. 6-foot-5 guard Trey Galloway hauled in three offensive rebounds on the night, more individually than Reese and fellow forwards Jordan Geronimo and Donta Scott. Willard said following the game that Galloway “outhustled” and “outplayed” the Terps.
“We have guys that are just watching him and looking around who are fourth, fifth year seniors,” Willard said. “And that’s just — if that’s the way it’s gonna be, well then I’m gonna make some major changes.”
Willard didn’t comment on any potential lineup changes Tuesday, but did note that Jahmir Young has not practiced with the team this week due to an ankle injury. The fifth-year guard is questionable for Wednesday, the coach said.
This will be Maryland’s first time playing Penn State under Rhoades, who runs a completely different system than previous coach Micah Shrewsberry, according to Willard. The Nittany Lions are now a run-and-jump, full court press and pick-and-roll heavy team after playing a more simple isolation style under Shrewsberry.
Guard Kanye Clary paces Penn State in points with 15.1 per contest, while fellow guard Ace Baldwin Jr. falls not far behind at 14.4. Baldwin also leads the team in minutes with 32 per game. Reese will have his hands full once again with Qudus Wahab, a 6-foot-11, 245-pound bruising forward averaging 11 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
Wednesday’s tipoff from the Xfinity Center is set for 7 p.m.
