Feature photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.
It was the second Saturday in February. Then No. 2 ranked Maryland Terrapins basketball team entered a game against unranked Wisconsin with a 22-3 overall record and a 10-2 record in Big Ten play. The preseason Big Ten favorites were living up to expectations.
The Badgers dropped the Terps in double-digit fashion and freshman center Diamond Stone got into a scuffle before the half, earning himself a one-game suspension. The Wisconsin loss marked the beginning of a 2-4 skid to close out the Terps’ season.
The once highly anticipated, now struggling Terps have reached a crossroads in their season. They’re treating the upcoming Big Ten Tournament as a fresh start.
“We’re looking at it as a mini version of the NCAA tournament, instead of six games, it’s three games. You lose you go home,” guard Rasheed Sulaimon said. “We’re going to try to use the Big Ten tournament as much as we can, as our last preparation for the NCAA tournament and at the same time, we’re going to try to win it.”
Maryland enters the tournament as a three seed with a double bye. Sixth-seeded Wisconsin will take on 11 seed Nebraska Thursday night; the winner will take on Maryland Friday at 9:30 p.m. EST.
The Terps don’t know their opponent for their first game of the tournament yet, but head coach Mark Turgeon doesn’t seem to mind.
“It’s great not thinking about who you’re going to play,” Turgeon said. “You have a good idea who you think it’s going to be but it’s a chance for us to really work on us.”
The Terps have had plenty to work on lately. During the six game stretch to close out the regular season, they shot 45.8 percent from the field, compared to their season average of 48.9 percent. They also averaged 14.6 turnovers per game, 1.5 more than their mark for the year.
On Wednesday, Turgeon, Sulaimon and point guard Melo Trimble all said the Terps have been putting an extra emphasis on defense lately.
Though Maryland has struggled recently, Turgeon isn’t concerned with their ranking, and he’s not shying away from praising his team.
“We got to 22-3 guys. We handled it pretty well. Lost one or two that we probably shouldn’t have lost and had a tough schedule down the stretch,” Turgeon said. “…Whether we’re an underdog or a favorite, this time of year, it really doesn’t matter, it’s just a number in front of your name now and everybody we play going forward is a heck of a basketball team.”
After starting the season ranked No. 3, and sitting at No. 2 entering the final six games of their regular season, the Terps have fallen to No. 18.
In the Big Ten Tournament, they’ll have a chance to earn back the public’s acclaim ahead of the NCAA tournament.
“Now that we took a couple L’s, people just lost respect for us and we’re not in the picture of anything,” Trimble said. “I think just knowing that, and knowing what people are saying about us gives us a chip on our shoulder and makes us hungrier.”
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