Maryland women’s basketball (17-12, 9-9 B1G) faces a must-win situation in its first game of the Big Ten Tournament against Illinois (14-14, 8-10 B1G).
Maryland regularly shines in the Big Ten tournament and has won five titles since joining the conference in 2014, posting a 20-4 record in the event. But this year Maryland enters as an underdog.
Maryland finished with a 1-9 record against teams with higher seeds in the Big Ten tournament compared with an 8-0 record against the other six teams below them. The sole win was a Senior Day victory against Penn State.
“You never know who’s going to win any night so you really got to go out there and fight and bring the physicality and just be ready for anything,” Faith Masonius said.
The Illini are one of the few teams the Terps had success against this season. Maryland won both matchups against Illinois by a combined 24 points. The Terps excelled in the paint, scoring 82 combined points in the two wins.
Maryland compiled wins against weaker teams this season but lacked victories against top teams in the AP Poll and conference standings.
The Terps entered Sunday controlling its destiny. If the Terps had defeated No. 14 Indiana, Maryland would be the sixth seed and face No. 10 Wisconsin in the first round.
Instead, the Terps fell to the Hoosiers while Penn State and Michigan picked up wins. The loss and subsequent games left the Terps with the eighth seed and a date with top-seed Ohio State in the Quarterfinals if they secure a win on Thursday.
Maryland struggled mightily against Indiana in the regular season finale, missing layups and three-point shots, which stalled any possibility of a comeback.
Graduate student Brinae Alexander missed all four of her attempts on Sunday against the Hoosiers, limiting Maryland’s offensive capabilities.
“Teams might be playing her [Alexander] tight because they know she’s a shooter but just trying to move the ball and get drives to kick so we’ll hopefully find her and can get some threes up,” Masonius said.
Maryland lacks a dominant starting five that can consistently score. While teams like Nebraska and Michigan do not have four or more players scoring in double figures, they do have a signature win, an element missing from Maryland’s resume this season.
The Wolverines, who Maryland blew a large second-half lead to, handed the Buckeyes their sole loss in conference play. Nebraska’s signature win came against Iowa at home where the Hawkeyes imploded down the stretch. Even Illinois earned a signature win earning a dominant 20-point home win over Indiana last month, showcasing the parity in the Big Ten this season.
Maryland has this weekend to put together a run in the Big Ten tournament and pick up that signature win the Terps are lacking to solidify their name being called on Selection Sunday.
“It’s tournament time,” Masonius said. “It’s survive and advance, it’s win or go home. We have to put everything on the line every single night.”
