Terps Ready To Compete For Big Ten Crown In Indy

For the second time since joining the Big Ten in 2014, Maryland has earned the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Conference Tournament, which is currently underway at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. 

 After defeating Ohio State on Wednesday night, Iowa advances to the next round of the tournament, which means a meeting with Illinois on Thursday evening. The Terps will play the winner between the Hawkeyes and Fighting Illini on Friday in the quarterfinals. 

 Let’s take a closer look at both of Maryland’s potential first opponents and how the Terps are trending entering the conference tournament.  

Iowa 

Not a very good team this year, as its 15 seed in the conference tournament would suggest, Iowa limped across the regular season finish line losing five of its last seven. But Fran McCaffery’s team caught lightning in a bottle on Wednesday and pulled off the upset over the 10th-seeded Buckeyes.  

A fast-paced team, per usual, Iowa’s offense isn’t typically its issue. It’s the 162nd-ranked defense, per KenPom, that kills the Hawkeyes. Starting just one or two seniors depending on the lineup, this is not McCaffery’s most experienced or talented team. But Iowa has some size and can run the floor with anyone, so upsets can happen when games turn into track meets.  

Terps fans will fondly remember the last meeting with the Hawkeyes less than a month ago in College Park. Iowa threw a haymaker in the first half, taking a 52-47 lead into halftime. But Maryland pieced the Hawkeyes up for the final 20 minutes and left with a 101-75 blowout victory. 

Led by point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s 26 points and 7 assists, all five Maryland starters scored in double figures in the last meeting with Iowa — not a rare feat for the Terps this season. Sixth-man Pryce Sandfort led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 15 points off the bench.  

Illinois 

Illinois is another team Maryland has already beaten this season — just a few weeks earlier. The 91-70 victory in Champaign is arguably the Terps’ best road win of the season, and it was sparked by an incredible game by Maryland’s frontcourt.  

Julian Reese led all scorers with 27 points and ripped down 17 rebounds to go with 3 blocks. He was a beast that night and it’s hard to beat Maryland when he plays like that. Big Ten Freshman of the Year Derik Queen wasn’t far behind with 25 points. Queen also chipped in 6 rebounds and 3 steals.  

Illinois’ star freshman Kasparas Jakucionis led his team with 21 points against Maryland but the Terps forced him into committing 7 turnovers, which I’m sure Kevin Willard would gladly take again. 

Jakucionis has hit a freshman wall lately, failing to score more than 17 points in six straight games. The Fighting Illini are 3-3 in that span but have won their last three entering the Big Ten Tournament. One of those wins was against Iowa — their next opponent. That game will feature two fast-paced teams, which could be fun, but their meeting less than three weeks ago was a 20-point blowout in favor of Brad Underwood’s team. 

Maryland’s recent form 

Trending well, the Terps have won seven of their last eight and 13 of 16 dating back to January 10th. They’re undoubtedly one of the hottest teams in college basketball, let alone the Big Ten. With all seven losses this season coming by less than four points on average, Maryland finds itself in every game because of its scrappy nature and strong starting five.  

Luckily for the Terps, they’re one of the other Big Ten teams that likes to get out and run, which might speak to the success they’ve already seen this year against both of their potential next opponents. 

Queen is the conference’s most dominant freshman and he has shown no signs of slowing up. The combination of him and Reese down low is more than most teams can handle. The three starting guards — Gillespie, Rodney Rice, and Selton Miguel — can all take over a game at any given time, as well, and have throughout the season.  

It’s certainly a “pick your poison” scenario when trying to stop the Terps and, in a tournament format, that can be an X factor as opposing teams struggle to prepare on the fly.  

But as balanced as Maryland’s offensive attack has been between its starters, the defense has been the Terps’ calling card throughout this impressive season. Ranking 9th nationally in defensive efficiency according to KenPom, the Terps smother teams. 

If Maryland makes it past its first Big Ten Conference Tournament game, it will play whoever comes out of the quadrant that contains No. 14 seed USC, No. 11 seed Rutgers, No. 6 seed Purdue, and No. 3 seed Michigan in the semifinals on Saturday. The tournament final is Sunday at 3:30 p.m. before the NCAA Tournament Bracket Selection Show. Michigan State is the No. 1 seed and UCLA is the No. 4 seed on the other side of the bracket. No. 5 seed Wisconsin is a dark horse to watch out for in the top half of the bracket.