The regular season ended in disappointing fashion for No. 14 Maryland, as they were outclassed 80-62 by Big Ten regular season champion No. 12 Indiana in Bloomington. Expecting the Terrapins to pick up a win at Assembly Hall would have been a tough ask, as the Hoosiers didn’t lose a single game on their home floor.

(Discuss this topic in the BSL forum here.)  

Also, from a matchup standpoint this was a tough assignment for Maryland regardless of the venue. The Hoosiers have one of the nation’s best point guards in Yogi Ferrell, and with the number of quick and active wings at Tom Crean’s disposal it was going to be tough for Maryland defensively. Sure enough that was the case, with Troy Williams scoring a game-high 23 points and players such as OG Anunoby, Juwan Morgan and big men Thomas Bryant and Max Bielfeldt all chipping in with their own contributions as well. Indiana’s produced one of the more impressive in-season turnarounds you’ll see, going from a group that had little desire to get stops to one that has committed to playing defense. Add that to the offensive gifts they never lost, and the end result was a Big Ten regular season title.

All hope isn’t lost for Maryland in the aftermath of a regular season that produced 24 overall wins, with 12 coming in Big Ten play. The Big Ten tournament begins this week, and as the three-seed Maryland will only have to win three games to take home the title many expected them to earn when the season began. That double-bye, which was sealed with their blowout victory over Illinois on Senior Night, is key for Maryland as they aren’t the deepest team especially on the perimeter. 

They’ll take this time to recuperate while also focusing on the task in front of them, which will begin Friday night against one of three teams: No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 11 Nebraska or No. 14 Rutgers. Here are some thoughts on how those two games could shake out, and what Maryland will need to do to advance.

Wednesday Night: No. 11 Nebraska vs. No. 14 Rutgers, 7:00 p.m. (BTN)

This is the first part of the puzzle, with the Huskers and Scarlet Knights facing the task of winning five games in five days if they’re to appear in the NCAA tournament. Both teams face long odds in doing so, but Nebraska’s chances are far better than those of Rutgers at this point in time.

Rutgers has an entertaining point guard in freshman Corey Sanders, but them playing multiple games in Indianapolis would be the upset of the Big Ten tournament. Hit hard by front court injuries, the biggest question now for the program is whether or not AD Patrick Hobbs will make a coaching change. Eddie Jordan’s approaching the end of his third season at the helm, and while jumping from the Big East (their final season there was the year before Jordan was hired) to the American to the Big Ten isn’t an easy transition there hasn’t been much progress in the on-court product. What could complicate things is the fact that Jordan was a member of Rutgers’ 1976 Final Four team, so maybe the powers that be are a little more sensitive when it comes to making a move. But besides that, there isn’t much intrigue surrounding Rutgers as it pertains to the Big Ten tournament.

What would Maryland have to do to beat Rutgers (should the opportunity present itself)? Basically come out focused. In this scenario the Scarlet Knights would have two wins under their belt going into Friday’s game, so to a certain extent they would have Maryland’s attention. That being said, Rutgers was still 1-17 in conference play so there can be a tendency to overlook a team of that caliber.

Moving on to Nebraska, they’d represent a far stiffer test for Maryland should they get to that point. Tim Miles has one of the conference’s top players in senior wing Shavon Shields, and Kansas transfer Andrew White III has some skill as well. Add in guards Benny Parker and Tai Webster, and they’ve got some talent there as well (I’m bullish on freshman Glynn Watson, too). The two teams met just once during the regular season, with Maryland winning a tight affair 70-65 in Lincoln back on February 3.

What would Maryland have to do to beat Nebraska? Take care of the basketball. That’s proven to be easier said than done at times for Maryland, and in their close win at Nebraska turnovers were an issue. Maryland turned the ball over 18 times in that game, but the good news is that the Huskers converted those mistakes into just nine points. Obviously there’s a difference between dead-ball and live-ball turnovers, as the latter can be of far greater issue since the opposition can immediately look to score in transition in most cases, but giving away possessions is a good way to keep an opponent you should beat in the game. Nebraska shot just 31.8 percent in that game, with Shield scoring 11 points on 4-for-17 shooting. He’s the key for Nebraska, and if Maryland can duplicate that defensive showing (should the teams meet) they’d be well positioned to advance.

Thursday Night: No. 6 Wisconsin vs. No. 11 Nebraska/ No. 14 Rutgers winner, approx. 9:00 p.m. (BTN)

With there being many reports out that Wisconsin’s ready to name Greg Gard its full-time head coach Tuesday, the Badgers will have one less thing to worry about in Indianapolis. But with that being said, the team really came together under Gard’s leadership after starting Big Ten play 1-4. Maryland played Wisconsin twice, with the road team winning both meetings. Melo Trimble’s dagger in the final seconds decided the first meeting, and Wisconsin was clearly the better team in the rematch.

Nigel Hayes has played at an All-Big Ten level and fellow junior Bronson Koenig has helped with the heavy lifting. But if anything’s changed for Wisconsin since the start of Big Ten play it’s been the growth of the “supporting cast.” Forward Ethan Happ is right behind Hayes and Koenig when it comes to his importance to the Badger attack, as he’s grown into one of the conference’s best defenders. Add in the steps taken by the likes of Vitto Brown and Zak Showalter (feel free to add in Khalil Iverson and Charlie Thomas’ contributions down the stretch), and that’s why Wisconsin arrives in Indianapolis playing to improve their NCAA tournament seeding as opposed to being the bubble team many thought they’d be fortunate to be after that 1-4 start. The bench has taken off under Gard, making them a formidable squad heading into postseason play.

What would Maryland have to do to beat Wisconsin? Take care of the defensive glass. Melo Trimble’s 1-for-14 day from the field certainly didn’t help matters either, but second chance points decided the rematch in College Park. Wisconsin rebounded 38.2 percent of its missed shots that day, converting 13 offensive rebounds into 20 second chance points. By comparison, Maryland scored four second chance points on nine offensive rebounds. As has been noted many times over Maryland’s been, for the most part, a good defensive team when it comes to the first shot. But closing those possessions out with a rebound has proven to be more difficult than many anticipated. That cannot be the case against Wisconsin, which finished the regular season ranked eighth in offensive rebounding percentage in conference games.

Also in the bottom half of the bracket are two-seed Michigan State, seven-seed Ohio State and ten-seed Penn State. 

Raphielle Johnson
Raphielle Johnson

BSL Analyst

Raphielle’s been writing about college sports for more than a decade, making the move to college basketball alone in 2013. Beginning his work with the former website CollegeHoops.net in 2003, Raphielle spent 3 years writing for NBCSports.com beginning 2013, covering CBB and the Olympics. In 2016, Raphielle joined Heavy.com. If there’s a game on, there’s a strong likelihood that he’s watching it.

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