Northwestern @ Maryland preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 19, 2018 ) Maryland 71, Northwestern 64

No. 24 Maryland looks to rebound from a rough week and find the form that led to seven straight victories after Christmas when it hosts Northwestern on Tuesday night in a Big Ten contest. The Terrapins had won six straight league games before losing by 14 at Michigan State last Monday and being outscored by 15 in the second half en route to a 78-67 setback against 6-14 Illinois on Saturday in New York.

“We were cruising a little bit and feeling good about ourselves,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon told reporters after Saturday’s defeat. “We just weren’t good when we needed to be good, and they were.” The Terrapins, who beat Northwestern twice last season within 10 days, look to get back on track while leaning on junior guard Anthony Cowan Jr. (17.4 points, team-high 4.6 assists) and 6-10 sophomore forward Bruno Fernando (14.6, team-best 10.3 rebounds). The Wildcats will try to get their offense in gear again after scoring a season low in the 62-48 setback at Wisconsin on Saturday, shooting 29.6 percent from the floor with no one reaching double figures. “You don’t want to panic. You got beat by a really good team on their home court,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said on the radio postgame show. “We’ve got to stay the course. We’ve got to get home, we’ve got to get right, and hopefully put ourselves in a position on Tuesday at Maryland to try and get a win.”

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (12-8, 3-6 Big Ten): Senior forward Vic Law leads the team in scoring (15.8), but has struggled the last three games - making just 5-of-29 from the field and averaging 7.7 points. Senior center Dererk Pardon adds 13.9 points per game on 61.1 percent shooting from the floor and leads the Wildcats in both rebounds (7.8) and blocks (24). Senior guard Ryan Taylor (12.0 points) is just 4-of-17 from the field the last two games while junior forward A.J. Turner (8.5 points, 3.5 assists) made just 6-of-21 shots in the past four contests and scored 4.3 per contest.

ABOUT MARYLAND (16-5, 7-3): Cowan has cooled off a bit, shooting 32.7 percent from the field the last four games, while Fernando boasts three straight double-doubles and 12 overall on the season after scoring 19 and grabbing 10 boards against Illinois. Freshman forward Jalen Smith averages 11.8 points on 50.6 percent shooting and freshman guard Aaron Wiggins (9.0 points) has drained 11-of-20 from 3-point range the last four games. Freshman guard Eric Ayala (8.6 points) tops the regulars in 3-point shooting (46.4 percent), but missed both tries against Illinois and did not score.

TIP-INS

1. Northwestern junior F Aaron Falzon has connected on 8-of-10 from 3-point range the last two games.

2. Fernando leads the Big Ten in field-goal percentage (67.4) and is second in blocks (2.0).

3. Maryland is second in the league in rebound margin (plus-10.0) and the Wildcats are 12th (minus-0.8).

PREDICTION: Maryland 76, Northwestern 66