Kevin Willard and the Maryland Terrapins travel to Madison tonight where they find themselves squaring off in a primetime Big Ten Matchup. The Terps, coming off a 71- 66 home win against Illinois, now sit ranked at 13 in the new AP Top 25 poll.
The Terps on Friday night opened up Big Ten play with a huge win against 16th ranked Illinois at the time. The atmosphere and energy at Xfinity center was exactly what Willard and the Terps had hoped for. After the game, Willard was talking about the atmosphere, hitting on the fact that this is the DMV and this is what it is about. The Terps had a hard fought battle with the Illini and after seeing a double digit lead disappear within the blink of an eye, many Terps fans, myself included, thought we had just another case of the same old Terps. After fighting back, with seconds left on the clock, transfer Jahmir Young hit a 3 to seal the deal.
Jahmir Young, a DeMatha graduate is back home in Maryland and has done nothing but impress early. Tonight, he and the Terps take on a tough, physical Badgers team at their home. In order to continue this unbeaten streak under Willard, the Terps are going to have to stay to their game, continue to defend well and be strong around the rim.
Wisconsin is coming off a gritty win against a tough Marquette team on the road. This Badger team is by no means any kind of breeze and will be a tough battle for the Terps tonight. The Badgers, led by guard Chucky Hebpurn play a physical brand of basketball. Tyler Wahl, a physical shooter for the Badgers, more than likely will be matched up with our own Donta Scott. Donta will have to monitor the perimeter and be physical at the rim.
The main key to a Terps victory tonight is to just play their game. As we know first hand, it is not easy to play on the road in the Big Ten. This Terps team just has to stick to their formula, continue to play at their upbeat pace this year, be physical around the rim and make their shots. Nothing comes easy in the Big Ten, this will be the first road test in the Big Ten for the Terps this year, and for Willard it is a chance to really show how real this team is if people do not believe in it yet. The game tips off at 9 pm eastern time on ESPN 2.
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