The Terps look for their third straight win.
No. 17 Maryland women’s basketball is likely to be favored in every matchup between now and the team’s season finale against No. 9 Ohio State — any loss will be seen at a letdown.
Maryland begins its run of mid-conference Big Ten teams with Nebraska at home Thursday night.
The game will be a part of a doubleheader with the men’s team, who will play the Cornhuskers on the road. Both games will stream on Big Ten Plus.
Nebraska Cornhuskers (16-7, 7-5 Big Ten)
Like many other members of the congested pack of teams in the middle of the Big Ten, the Huskers have gotten the job done against lower-tiered opponents, but have struggled to rise to the occasion against some of the best in the conference.
Their best win came over No. 22 Michigan State at home, but they haven’t been able to keep pace with teams like Ohio State, No. 1 UCLA and No. 4 USC. The Cornhuskers enter Thursday’s matchup on a two-game losing streak.
Players to watch
Alexis Markowski, senior center, 6-foto-3, No. 40 — Nebraska likes to play through Markowski, who is leading it in points and rebounds per game. The bruising center averages 14.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest on over 47% shooting from the field. Markowski will try to extend the defense by shooting threes, but that is a shot Maryland will likely cede, as she shoots just 18.6% from beyond the arc.
Britt Price, freshman guard, 5-foot-11 No. 23 — After the Huskers’ standout sophomore Natalie Potts suffered a season-ending knee injury early in the season, they had a lot of production to make up. Price has shown no fear in her freshman year, stepping up to contribute to some of that production. She can score on multiple levels, though she has been cold from three recently. She is also averaging three assists per game.
Callin Hake, junior guard, 5-foot-8, No. 14 — There’s a steep drop off between Hake and the Huskers’ top two offensive options and everyone else, but she is a crafty role player nonetheless. She can hurt a team from deep, shooting 34.6% from distance, and is an aggressive defender, averaging over 1.4 steals per game.
Strength
Three-point shooting. No team in the Big Ten gets off as many threes per game as Nebraska, and its percentage is top five in the conference. Maryland was caught sleeping early against Washington, letting it hit multiple threes before tightening up its perimeter defense in the second half. Nebraska could score in bunches if Maryland isn’t careful.
Weakness
Road performance. The Huskers are a team that draws off their energetic home crowds. They’ve been far more successful at home, with a 12-3 record in Lincoln, Nebraska, and a 3-5 record away from home. They’ll be tasked with playing in front of an energized Xfinity Center crowd for Maryland’s first home game in over a week.
Three things to watch
1. Can Maryland continue to pick up steam? Ever since Bri McDaniel went down for the season, the Terps have struggled to gain momentum as a group. If the Terps can handle Nebraska, it will serve as their third straight win.
2. Defense on Markowski. At times this season, Maryland has struggled to defend against elite post players. Nebraska will certainly look to feed Markowski early and often, and head coach Brenda Frese could reintroduce Christina Dalce, Maryland’s best interior defender, into the lineup as a counter.
3. Can Maryland get revenge? After winning the first 15 straight matchups between the two programs, Maryland has lost three out of the last four against the Huskers. Last year, the Huskers swept the Terps, beating them in the regular season before proceeding to knock them out of the Big Ten Tournament in the semifinals.