Nebraska @ Maryland preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 14, 2019 ) Nebraska 69, Maryland 61

No. 9 Maryland looks to become the first team to reach 10 wins in Big Ten play when it hosts Nebraska on Tuesday. The red-hot Terrapins have won six straight games, including a 75-66 road victory over 23rd-ranked Illinois on Friday, to take sole possession of first place in the conference standings, and they hope to separate themselves from the chasing pack by improving to 14-0 at home for the first time since the 1979-80 season.

“We’re confident and rolling and everything is clicking right now,” Maryland guard Eric Ayala told reporters. “We get out there and it’s just natural.” Nebraska looks to bounce back from its most lopsided loss of the season after getting routed by No. 17 Iowa 96-72 on Saturday. The Cornhuskers have dropped eight straight conference games, including four on the road during that span for the first time since the tail end of the 2014-15 season, and they hope to stop the bleeding by pulling off the seismic upset in College Park. “Any time you get beat by this amount of points it’s humiliating,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters. “We stick together, bring them in and have a couple good days of work heading into this game at Maryland.”

TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network

ABOUT NEBRASKA (7-16, 2-10 Big Ten): Jervay Green scored 11 of his team-high 18 points in the first half against Iowa to finish in double figures for the eighth time this season. Cam Mack added 13 points, three assists and three steals to take sole possession of sixth place on the program’s single-season assists list with 148, while Dachon Burke Jr. finished with 12 points, but the Cornhuskers were doomed by a 5-of-25 performance from 3-point range. “It’s tough when you’re on the road and you don’t convert the easy ones,” Hoiberg said. “The biggest thing is going out, playing with effort and hopefully giving ourselves a chance.”

ABOUT MARYLAND (19-4, 9-3): Anthony Cowan Jr. registered 20 points, seven assists and four rebounds in the win against Illinois to overtake Johnny Rhodes (1,743) for 10th-place on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,753 points. Darryl Morsell tallied 15 points, five rebounds and four steals while Ayala scored 12 points after he was held scoreless in his previous game to help the Terrapins sweep the season series with the Fighting Illini. Jalen Smith continues to play the best basketball of his collegiate career as he added 11 points and 11 rebounds to record his sixth straight double-double while Aaron Wiggins finished with 10 points.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Maryland is 15-0 when scoring 70 or more points this season.

2. Smith leads the Big Ten with 14 double-doubles.

3. Nebraska has dropped 14 straight road games dating back to last season.

PREDICTION: Maryland 78, Nebraska 64