Maryland @ Nebraska preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 2, 2019 ) Nebraska 72, Maryland 74

Both Maryland and host Nebraska have been tumbling down the Big Ten standings of late, lending a sense of urgency to their matchup Wednesday night. Maryland has followed up a 7-1 start in conference play with losses in three of their last four games, including a 69-61 setback at No. 19 Wisconsin on Friday.

The defeat knocked the Terrapins from the national rankings and into fifth place in the Big Ten, which affords its top four teams a double-bye in the conference tournament next month. "We battled," coach Mark Turgeon told reporters after the loss to the Badgers. "I was really proud of my team tonight up until about seven minutes to go in the game. We had to overcome a lot - a great building with great players, unbelievable foul trouble and we just kept battling." The Cornhuskers opened 3-3 in the Big Ten before dropping five straight, the latest a 71-64 defeat at Illinois on Saturday. They shot 35.7 percent from the floor while making 3-of-23 from 3-point range against the Fighting Illini and have been held under 70 points six straight times.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT MARYLAND (17-6, 8-4 Big Ten): Junior guard Anthony Cowan Jr. leads the Terrapins in scoring (16.7 points per game), assists (4.5) and steals (1.0), but he's 22-for-68 from the field over a six-game stretch. Sophomore forward Bruno Fernando has five straight double-doubles and entered Tuesday leading the Big Ten in field-goal percentage (66.5) while ranking tied for second in rebounding (10.3). Freshman guard Eric Ayala put up 18 points while making 4-of-5 from 3-point range in Friday's loss after scoring a total of 19 points over his previous four contests.

ABOUT NEBRASKA (13-9, 3-8): Saturday's loss came in the team's second game since losing second-leading scorer Isaac Copeland to a torn ACL, and the Huskers are a woeful 42-for-130 from the floor in that span. "Bad shooting is like a virus," coach Tim Miles told the media Saturday. "It goes bad and then all of a sudden you're expecting the worst." Senior guard James Palmer Jr. ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring (19.3) but is shooting just 11-of-39 since Copeland went down.

TIP-INS

1. Cowan scored 19 points while Fernando finished with 18 and a career-high 17 boards in a 74-72 win over Nebraska earlier this season.

2. Huskers senior F Tanner Borchardt had career highs of 12 points and 18 rebounds in the loss to Illinois.

3. Maryland is shooting 40.1 percent from 3-point range in conference play, while Nebraska is hitting just 30 percent.

PREDICTION: Maryland 68, Nebraska 66