Nebraska @ Maryland preview
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Last Meeting ( Feb 16, 2021 ) Nebraska 50, Maryland 64
Maryland will look for a sweep of Nebraska when the teams meet Wednesday in College Park, Md., for the second time in two nights.
The Terrapins are matched up against the same opponent on back-to-back nights for the first time since 1949 at Miami and for the first time in College Park since 1927 vs. North Carolina.
The two teams were originally scheduled to play on Jan. 16, but that contest was postponed due to health and safety protocols within the Cornhuskers' program.
Maryland ran away with a 64-50 win over Nebraska on Tuesday, using a 20-6 run over the final eight minutes to capture the victory.
Aaron Wiggins paced the Terrapins (12-10, 6-9 Big Ten) with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Jairus Hamilton added 15 points off the bench and Eric Ayala hit for 14.
Maryland, which beat Minnesota on Sunday, won consecutive games in league play for the first time this season. The Terrapins, who are 3-5 at home in Big Ten play, had a front-loaded conference schedule with 10 ranked opponents in the first 14 league games.
For the Terrapins, Wednesday's game is an opportunity to sweep a pair of conference games against an opponent that is at the bottom of the league's standings. But getting back-to-back wins against any team is easier said than done.
"There won't be a scouting report because both teams know each other really well," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. "You'll try to watch some film, things you didn't do well, things you did well, things that we can try to do better, whatever to help us. ...
"Hopefully we have great energy, hopefully we can play our bench a little bit and hopefully we play well."
The Cornhuskers (5-13, 1-10) are preparing to play for the seventh time in 12 days after returning to action on Feb. 6 following a 26-day COVID-19-related layoff. Last season, Nebraska played seven games in the entire month of February.
"I think it is affecting us," Hoiberg said of the busy slate. "There is a sense of fatigue with our guys right now. We're trying to do everything that we can ... but I thought our guys battled. I thought they played hard. I didn't think it was an effort thing (Tuesday). We just really struggled to get anything going."
The Cornhuskers lost their first nine league games this season, dating back to Dec. 22, before winning 62-61 at Penn State on Sunday. Since returning to play after the protocol-prompted break, Nebraska has held four of its six opponents to less than 40 percent shooting.
The Cornhuskers, down by 15 early in the second half Tuesday, fought back to tie the contest at 44 before running out of gas down the stretch. Nebraska went without a field goal over the final 3:22 of the game. Teddy Allen paced the Cornhuskers with 18 points while Dalano Banton had 10.
--Field Level Media