Maryland @ Northwestern preview
Welsh-Ryan Arena
Last Meeting ( Feb 18, 2020 ) Northwestern 67, Maryland 76
Big Ten teams heading in opposite directions will meet on Wednesday night when Maryland visits Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.
Though both squads are coming off victories, Maryland (15-10, 9-9) is riding a five-game winning streak to boost its NCAA Tournament chances while Northwestern (7-14, 4-13) recently posted its first win since the day after Christmas.
The Terrapins enter Wednesday's game following a 73-55 home win against Michigan State on Sunday, jumping to an 11-0 lead and never looking back.
Eric Ayala had 22 points, going 13-for-13 from the free-throw line as the Terps were 23 of 24 from the line and 8 of 16 from 3-point range. Darryl Morsell, who injured his shoulder a week earlier and didn't practice much in between, added 11 points and played lockdown defense.
"He just kept saying: ‘Coach, don't worry about me. I'm mentally tough. I'll be in good enough shape to play,'" Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. "And he was right."
Northwestern hopes to build off its first win of 2021 as it ended a 13-game skid with a 67-59 victory at Minnesota on Thursday.
"You walk into the locker room and you see the celebration, you see smiles," Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. "These guys are putting a lot into this thing. You don't see the way our guys have continued to battle through struggles. I have so much admiration and am just really proud of them. And they deserved it tonight."
Boo Buie had 25 points for the Wildcats, going 12 of 12 from the foul line.
Northwestern will try for its first home win since Dec. 26, when it knocked off then-No. 23 Ohio State 71-70 to cap a 3-0 start to Big Ten play. Since then the Wildcats have dropped five in a row at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Maryland is 4-5 on the road this season, most recently winning at Rutgers, 68-59, on Feb. 21.
--Field Level Media