Iowa @ Maryland preview
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Last Meeting ( Jan 30, 2020 ) Iowa 72, Maryland 82
Wooden Award favorite Luka Garza has accomplished a lot of things at Iowa. Before the season's over, he's likely to become the school's all-time leading scorer and perhaps the most decorated player in school history.
But for all the individual accolades, one particular fact from Saturday's 77-75 Big Ten win at No. 14 Rutgers stood out to Garza.
"I told the guys before the game we have never beaten a ranked team on the road since I have been in a Hawkeye uniform, so to be able to do that gives us tremendous confidence," he said.
With that significant victory in its hip pocket, No. 5 Iowa looks to avoid a letdown Thursday night at conference foe Maryland.
Many have hyped the Hawkeyes (9-2, 3-1) as a potential conference champion and Final Four contender, citing Garza's dominance inside and a coterie of capable 3-point shooters around him. In fact, Iowa's 92.7 points per game rank fifth in Division I and Garza's 27.5 points per game lead the nation among players with more than two games played.
But Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery had his eye on another stat shortly after his team became just the second opponent in 26 games to emerge from Rutgers' building with a win.
"When you can play 11 guys in a two-point game, that says a lot about your team," he said. "It was our depth and grit that enabled us to win."
Garza's 25 points led the way, but there were several key contributors. Freshman Keegan Murray came off the bench for 14 points and nine rebounds, and senior Jordan Bohannon drilled three 3-pointers to move past Joe Crispin (Penn State) for ninth place on the conference's all-time made 3-pointer list with 310.
Iowa doesn't beat itself often. It averages 9.9 turnovers per game and also makes more free throws than its opponents try, a function of having Garza as its No. 1 option.
Maryland (6-5, 1-4) seems ill-equipped to pull off the upset. The Terrapins are good defensively, ranking fourth in the conference at 66.6 points allowed per game and holding opponents to 42.9 percent shooting. But they have struggled to score against top Big Ten teams.
Case in point: Monday night's 63-55 loss at Indiana. Maryland controlled most of the first half, but breakdowns on both ends of the floor sprung the Hoosiers' Trayce Jackson-Davis loose for 22 points and 15 rebounds.
The Terrapins are averaging 72.6 points per game, a number inflated by a series of high-scoring nonconference wins. In conference games, that number goes down to 65.6.
"Our offense let us down tonight," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. "We did not move the ball as well as we need do. We missed a lot of open shots on inside-out, and then we are just not passing the ball quick enough.
"We are holding it one second too long and we are missing some opportunities. It is an everyday fight with me with this team and we just have got to continue to fight."
Eric Ayala is the Terrapins' top scorer at 14.3 points per game, while Donta Scott hits for 12.9 and Aaron Wiggins adds 11.5.
--Field Level Media