Maryland men’s basketball (14-13, 6-10 Big Ten) is entering the final stretch of its 2023-24 campaign, set to play its penultimate road game Sunday against Rutgers (14-12, 6-9 Big Ten) at Jersey Mike’s Arena.
Both teams sit near the bottom of the Big Ten standings and, with the conference tournament looming, will be looking for a win to catapult themselves out of the dreaded bottom four seeds.
The Terps have dropped five of their last six contests — four of those losses have been within five points or less — and are reeling with just four games remaining in Big Ten play. After being picked to finish third in the Big Ten preseason media poll, Maryland is tied with the Scarlet Knights for 11th-best in the conference.
Rutgers, who’s 11-3 at home, has faced similar struggles to the Terps this season. It has the third-best scoring defense in the Big Ten, allowing 66.6 points per game, but has been frustratingly inept on the offensive side of the floor. Coach Steve Pikiell’s squad averages 66.9 points per game, the worst mark in the conference by three points — the Terps are the second-worst scoring offense at 66.9 points per game.
Maryland most recently fell to Wisconsin on Tuesday, 74-70, dropping it to 3-7 on the road this season. The Terps were plagued by a slow and sloppy start in which they allowed the Badgers to go on a 9-2 run and close out the first half with an eight-point lead. Maryland stuck around, draining multiple threes in the final minute, but was unable to close it out.
The Terps and Scarlet Knights met earlier this month in College Park. Rutgers won, 56-53, in a defensive battle. Maryland came out flat and shot 11 percent from three in the contest. Donta Scott missed a potential game-tying three point shot on the game’s final possession.
“To be honest with you, it was a lack of urgency all around,” guard Jahmir Young said following the loss on Feb. 6. “So, that’s unacceptable with where we’re at in the season and what we have to do, so this is a tough one.”
Senior guard Mawot Mag and junior guard Jeremiah Williams led the Scarlet Knights in the first matchup with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Williams, who transferred to Rutgers from Temple this past offseason, was playing just his second game of the season at the time but proved to be a major factor in the win.
“Their addition of Jeremiah Williams totally changes their team,” coach Kevin Willard said following the game. “A veteran guard that can score, that can defend, that’s a different basketball team from their first 19 games.”
Willard called Mag the best college defender he’s seen in a “long, long time.” Mag is a 6-foot-7, 216-pound wing averaging a career-high 1.2 steals per game in his senior season.
Rutgers has dropped its last two games after winning three in a row against Maryland, Wisconsin and Northwestern. The Scarlet Knights’ most recent result was a 96-68 loss at the hands of No. 3 Purdue.
Both teams will be clawing for a win following their recent rough patches, although neither squad is playing for much at this point in the season with their NCAA Tournament chances very likely in the rearview mirror.
