Gardner-Webb @ Maryland preview

Maryland continues a six-game homestand spread over nearly a month on the calendar when it hosts Gardner-Webb on Saturday. The Terrapins followed up their first Big Ten victory at Illinois with an 87-62 triumph over Ohio on Thursday to open the long stretch at the XFINITY Center, although it didn't come without an injury concern.

Freshman forward Bruno Fernando, who ranks third on the team in scoring (10.2) and second in rebounding (5.6) despite playing just 19.2 minutes per contest, left the game in the second half with a sprained ankle that will likely keep him out of action Saturday. Senior center Michal Cekovsky will be relied upon to fill the void after he broke out for a season-high 15 points on 6-of-6 from the field in the win. "Ceko's a huge piece to our team, so we need him to contribute as much as possible, and he did that tonight," guard Anthony Cowan told The Baltimore Sun. "That's big for us. We need to try to get his confidence up as much as possible, because we need him." The Bulldogs of the Big South have just one win over a Division I opponent and enter this one after falling 80-55 at Auburn on Wednesday.

TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network Plus

ABOUT GARDNER-WEBB (3-7): Leading scorer David Efianayi (16.7) led the way in the loss to the Tigers with 16 points, although he missed all four of his 3-point tries and is just 4-for-19 from long range over a five-game stretch. Junior forward D.J. Laster was held to nine points - nearly six below his season average - after posting 17.3 over his previous three games, and he grabbed five rebounds to see his team lead in that category dip to 6.8. Senior guard Liam O'Reilly is the team's one other double-digit scorer at 12.8 and he leads the Bulldogs in assists per game (3.5) and 3-pointers (29).

ABOUT MARYLAND (8-3): Cowan was just 3-for-10 from the field - including 0-of-4 from behind the arc - against Ohio but he nearly had a triple-double with 12 points, eight rebounds and a career high-tying seven assists. Fellow sophomore Kevin Huerter ranks second to Cowan on the team in scoring with 13.7 and that number is at 19 over the last four games as the sharpshooter has buried 17-of-30 from 3-point range. Sophomore forward Justin Jackson did not start the last game due to an illness but managed 10 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes and he leads the team on the glass with 8.1 rebounds per contest.

TIP-INS

1. Cowan has multiple steals in five games and at least one in four straight.

2. Maryland entered Friday ranked 48th nationally in foul shooting (75.5), while Gardner-Webb was tied for 276th (66.3).

3. Bulldogs G Jaheam Cornwall is averaging 12 points while making 9-of-15 from 3-point range over his last three games.

PREDICTION: Maryland 85, Gardner-Webb 63