Purdue @ Maryland preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 12, 2019 ) Purdue 56, Maryland 70

No. 17 Maryland looks to avoid dropping three straight Big Ten games for the first time in nearly three years when it hosts Purdue on Saturday. The Terrapins lost a pair of road games to Iowa (67-49) on Jan. 10 and Wisconsin (56-54) on Tuesday to fall to .500 in conference play, but they hope to keep their head above water in the ultra-competitive Big Ten by improving to 11-0 at home this season.

“Both of these have been devastating losses,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon told reporters. “Hopefully, we’ll learn from it and get better and go home and play well Saturday against a really good team.” Purdue got over the disappointment of its 84-78 double overtime loss against Michigan on Jan. 9 by routing No.14 Michigan State 71-42 on Sunday. The Boilermakers held the Spartans to 35.3 percent shooting en route to matching their largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent, and they hope to ride the momentum to their 16th consecutive Big Ten home win, which is tied for the second-longest streak at Mackey Arena. “This is a tone-setter for us from here on out,” Purdue forward Trevion Williams told reporters. “This is one of the tougher teams in our league and to come out and get a win like that is big.”

TIME: 2 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN2

ABOUT PURDUE (10-7, 3-3 Big Ten): Williams produced 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the win against Michigan State after setting career highs with 36 points and 20 rebounds in his previous game against Michigan. Evan Boudreaux added 11 points and five rebounds, while Sasha Stefanovic scored 10 points to go along with four assists and three blocks. Eric Hunter Jr. also tallied 10 points while Nojel Eastern finished with nine points and seven rebounds as he helped hold Spartans star Cassius Winston to 10 points - 8.8 below his season average.

ABOUT MARYLAND (13-4, 3-3): Jalen Smith narrowly missed out on his ninth double-double of the season as he scored 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, in the loss to Wisconsin. Anthony Cowan Jr. added 16 points but missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with less than three seconds remaining in the game, while Aaron Wiggins tallied 13 points after he was held scoreless in his previous game. “I just tried to get to my spot, but it didn’t fall for me,” Cowan told reporters. “I just saw the defender backing up and it’s a shot you can make.”

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Maryland has won its last three home games by an average margin of 14 points.

2. Purdue has held eight opponents to fewer than 60 points this season.

3. Williams is averaging 10.8 rebounds over his last six games.

PREDICTION: Maryland 74, Purdue 71