With a spot in the quarterfinals on the line, the Terps face Wisconsin for the second time this season.
No. 12-seed Maryland men’s basketball looks to advance to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals when it faces No. 5-seed Wisconsin on Thursday.
It will be Maryland’s second game in as many days, while the Badgers have not played in three days after earning a first-round bye.
Game information
When: Thursday, March 14, approximately 2:30 p.m. ET
Where: Target Center — Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV: Big Ten Network
Streaming: FOX Sports
How did they get here?
No. 12-seed Maryland Terrapins (16-16, 8-13 Big Ten)
The Terps beat No. 13-seed Rutgers in the first round on Wednesday night, 65-51.
The Terps jumped out to an 11-0 lead, highlighted by consecutive triples from Donta Scott, DeShawn Harris-Smith and Jamie Kaiser Jr. Kaiser, who earned just his fourth start of the season, finished with 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Scott also scored a game-high 16 points on just seven shot attempts.
A 14-point halftime lead was more than enough cushion for the Terps to walk away with a relatively uncompetitive win. They shot a tame 43.1% from the field and 35% from three, but both were significantly higher than Rutgers’ clips of 31.1% field-goal shooting and 23.8% shooting from three.
Despite Jahmir Young going just 4-for-11 from the field, the Terps looked like the far better team, with four player scoring in double digits.
No. 5-seed Wisconsin Badgers (19-12, 11-9 Big Ten)
The Badgers got off to a slow start this season, falling to No. 5 Tennessee and Providence both by double-digit points. But an ensuing six-game winning streak, which included an 11-point win over then-No. 3 Marquette, eased initial concern.
After losing to then-No. 1 Arizona, 98-73, Wisconsin rode another six-game winning streak into the heart of Big Ten play, which included wins over Nebraska and Northwestern, before narrowly losing to Penn State.
The Badgers were ranked as the No. 6 team in the country on Jan. 29, but have failed to maintain the same success over the last month and a half. The start of February marked the beginning of a four-game losing streak, with one of those losses coming against conference-worst Michigan.
The Badgers won three of their last seven regular-season games, but their overall late-season struggles provide hope for a Maryland upset.
What happened last time
Maryland and Wisconsin met once during the regular season on Feb. 20.
The Badgers held an eight-point lead at halftime, and increased it to 10 in the second half, which proved to be too steep of a hill for the Terps to overcome. Maryland lost, 74-70.
Maryland shot better than Wisconsin from the field (46.2%) and from beyond the arc (33.3%) but were out-rebounded by nine.
Young led all scorers with 20 points, while Julian Reese added 18 points and seven rebounds. On the opposing side, Tyler Wahl and Max Klesmit combined for 34 points on 9-of-16 shooting.
Three things to watch
1. Lineup consistencies. While Maryland’s starting lineup has been relatively consistent this season, head coach Kevin Willard made some changes over the last few weeks, rotating in Mady Traore, Kaiser and Jahari Long. Meanwhile, Wisconsin has rolled out the same starting five for all 31 games, highlighting its health and talent at the top of its roster.
2. Maryland’s defense needs to step up. Maryland allows the fewest points per game in the Big Ten (65.7) and is fresh off one of its best performances of the season. Although, the Scarlet Knights had perhaps the worst offense in the Big Ten. Nevertheless, if the Terps want to pull off an upset, it will start on the defensive end.
3. Young’s play. Young is the machine that makes Maryland run, displayed by an All-Big Ten first-team nod despite the Terps being one of the worst teams in the conference. While Maryland beat Rutgers with ease, he was not particularly efficient, which cannot be the case Thursday.
The road ahead
The winner between Maryland and Wisconsin will take on Northwestern on Friday in the quarterfinals.
The Terps lost both of their games against the Wildcats this season, while Wisconsin won its only meeting with them.