Following a narrow, hard-fought loss at then-No. 3 Purdue last time out, Maryland men’s basketball (12-7, 3-5 Big Ten) returns to the XFINITY Center for a three-game home-stand, which starts against Wisconsin (12-6, 4-4 Big Ten) Wednesday night.
The Badgers are not ranked but received votes in the latest AP Top 25 poll.
Maryland had a tough first half against Purdue but managed to fight back in the second half and turned the game competitive down the stretch. The Terps’ defensive presence seemed entirely different, forcing the Boilermakers to 26.92% shooting from the field in the second half, compared to 50% in the first. Maryland had a chance to tie it with a three at the buzzer but the shot didn’t fall, as it fell 58-55.
Sophomore forward Julian Reese had one of his best collegiate games against Purdue, scoring 19 points on 8-11 shooting. A lot of his shots came from going directly at Zach Edey, the Boilermakers’ 7-foot 4-inch center, not backing down from the challenge.
“[When] he’s healthy, I think he’s got a lot of confidence because he’s been putting a lot of extra work in,” coach Kevin Willard said. “And I think our guys have a lot of confidence in him.”
Maryland’s top scoring options both had a tough afternoon against the Purdue defense. Graduate student guard Jahmir Young is averaging 15.5 points per game this season, but missed his first eight shots from the field and only ended up with 10 points. Senior forward Donta Scott has only scored in double digits four times in his last eleven games, and scored just five points on 2-9 shooting. Scott is averaging just 9.1 points per game in conference play on 33% shooting from the field.
Now, Maryland will play Wisconsin for the second time this season, with the Badgers handing the Terps their first loss of the season back in early December. It was a close game in Madison, but sophomore guard Chucky Hepburn and freshman guard Connor Essegian hit a few clutch threes in the second half as Wisconsin won 64-59.
The Terps kept the Badgers’ leading scorer, senior forward Tyler Wahl, to a fairly silent night in the first meeting. Wahl, who is averaging 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game this season, wasn’t very efficient with nine points on just 3-10 shooting from the field. But Maryland will have to find a way to stop Hepburn this time around, as his 12.7 points per game average isn’t too far behind Wahl.
Wisconsin’s strengths come from the perimeter, where it has some dangerous shot makers to deal with. Essegian and Hepburn are the two real threats from deep for the Badgers, with Essegian shooting 43.7% from three on 5.44 attempts per game and Hepburn shooting 46.3% from three on 5.13 attempts per game. They shot a combined 4-9 from behind the arc against Maryland earlier this season.
Unlike the Purdue game, Maryland won’t have as much of a challenge on the boards in this one. Wisconsin ranks last in the conference in team rebounding, averaging just 31.8 rebounds per game this season.
Willard talked about Wisconsin’s ability to play its game and not stray away from it, and how it affected the Terps in the first meeting.
“It was a five-point game, and I still remember this, it was like crickets in the building because we were making a little bit of a run, and they just played their pace,” Willard said. “They have that style that will just grind you up and get you to play at their pace.”
Despite losing four of their last six games, the Terps return to College Park where they’ve played extremely well this season, 9-1 and undefeated in conference play.
Tip-off is set at 7 p.m.
