By Andrew Robinson
With the first half of the Big Ten season in the rearview mirror, Maryland currently finds themselves sitting at 3-7 against conference opponents, good for tenth place in the loaded Big Ten.
After suffering yet another home loss to Wisconsin on Wednesday, their fourth home loss of the season, the Terps will need a strong second half surge in order to solidify their chances at an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
According to Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated, the Terps were amongst the “Last Four in” to the tournament after their road win over Minnesota last week, their third road victory of the season over a top 20 opponent. However, after their loss to the Badgers, the Terps dropped to the “First Four Out” of the field of 68.
Maryland is officially on the bubble, and if they plan to make it into the tournament, this week’s matchup against Purdue in college park will be a huge opportunity to get another resume building win.
“We’re not good enough to be inconsistent, we’ve got to be really good to win,” Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon said after Wednesday night's loss to the Badgers.
However, Turgeon was optimistic about his team's next opportunity to pick up another quality win in the gauntlet that is the Big Ten.
“You’ve got to keep battling, you’ve got to move on and be resilient, and see what happens.”
Fortunately for the Terps, the most difficult part of their schedule is behind them. Having already finished their season series against Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa, four teams all ranked in the top 25, the second half of the schedule bodes well for a Terps team desperate to get into the win column.
“The second half is much easier than the first half. So you’ve got to give them at least a 50% chance, if not better, chance of getting in,” Terps insider Jeff Erman said of the team's chances to play their way into the field of 68.
Maryland only has two games on their remaining schedule against teams who are currently ranked in the top 25, and both of those games will be played at home.
Tuesday night’s contest versus Purdue, and a February 8th matchup against Ohio State will give Maryland two more opportunities to earn resume building wins in their own building.
“You have those opportunities to play big time teams, and show that we’re a really good team,” Maryland junior forward Jairus Hamilton said. “I know that I feel very confident In this team, and the second half of this conference and what we’re going to be able to do.”
Despite Maryland's three top 20 wins this season on the road, it is no secret that the Terps have struggled thus far at home, going 0-4 at Xfinity Center in Big Ten Play. In a normal year, the Xfinity Center is one of the toughest places to play in the Big Ten, but in a year where the coronavirus has eliminated spectators from most college venues, the Terps have gotten off to a less than stellar start in College Park.
“I think it’s just been a very different year not really having that advantage at home that teams usually have. And not having that crowd and those fans there to pump players up,” Hamilton said. “It’s something that we’ve definitely been focusing on and trying to improve, so we’re going to figure it out very soon.”
Another unique factor with this year's Maryland team, has been the transition to a small ball lineup as opposed to the traditional center that the Terps have utilized over the years. From guys like Alex Len at the beginning of the Mark Turgeon era, to guys like Diamond Stone, Bruno Fernando, and most recently Jalen Smith, Maryland has always had an anchor on the inside to protect the rim, and provide some interior scoring.
Recently, Turgeon has gone with a five guard lineup, inserting Hakim Hart into the starting lineup, to play alongside Donta Scott, Darryl Morsell, Aaron Wiggins, and Eric Ayala. With matchups looming against talented front-court players such as Purdue’s Trevion Williams and Ohio State’s EJ Liddell, the small ball lineup will certainly be put to the test.
“You’ve got to give their guys credit. They’ve kept fighting and it's hard to keep fighting when you’re so undersized, but Donta Scott and Aaron Wiggins and those guys have rebounded really hard and they haven’t stopped fighting in the paint despite the disadvantage,” Erman said.
Another positive as far as the schedule is that they won’t have to see some of the more imposing centers in the league anymore such as Iowa’s Luka Garza, Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson, Illinois’s Kofi Cockburn, or Wisconsin’s Micah Potter.
“I think just because of the personnel of the opponents in the second half, they should do better with the small ball lineup,” Erman also said.
With a favorable schedule down the stretch, and starters such as Eric Ayala and Darryl Morsell back in the lineup after both missing time to injury at separate points of the season, the team is confident that the second half of conference play will allow them to catch their stride, and gather some momentum into the postseason.
“Everybody’s chemistry and everybody’s bodies are starting to get back to 100%, so I think we’re going to have an opportunity to do some special things in the second half of the season,” Hamilton said.
Maryland will get their chance to earn their first home victory of the season when they face Purdue at the Xfinity Center on Tuesday at 6:30pm.