Maryland eyeing revenge vs. Northwestern at home

Maryland (15-13, 7-10) vs. Northwestern (19-8, 10-6)
When & where: Feb. 28, 2024 | 7:00 PM | Xfinity Center
TV: BTN–Jason Horowitz, Robbie Hummel
Radio: 105.7 FM (Baltimore) | 980 AM (DC) | SiriusXM channel 386
Betting odds: Maryland -5.5 | O/U 128.5 (DraftKings)

Maryland will look to pick up its second consecutive win when it hosts Northwestern on Wednesday night, the first of two home games for head coach Kevin Willard and the Terps.

Maryland has largely dominated the series since joining the Big Ten, but head coach Kevin Willard will look for his team to avenge last month’s loss after Northwestern pulled out a 72-69 win despite 36 points from Jahmir Young, the most points by a Terp in a conference road game in nine years.

Northwestern, meanwhile, will look to pick up its fifth win in its last six games in hopes of securing its 20th season win for just the sixth time in program history.

Maryland enters Wednesday with a chance to move to 5-2 in Quad Two games this season as the Terps look to stack wins heading into March. Maryland is coming off another strong defensive performance after holding Rutgers to 46 points in Sunday’s win, the fewest since giving up the same in last season’s road win at Minnesota.

Maryland’s win helped climb out of the bottom four in the conference standings before Indiana defeated Wisconsin, 74-70, on Tuesday night to push the Terps back to 11th in the Big Ten, drawing a potential first-round matchup against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament in the current standings. A win on Wednesday would not only move the Terps’ record inside the Xfinity Center to 12-4 this season, but back out of the bottom four in the Big Ten and avoid a first-round matchup.

Maryland will have their hands full as they face Northwestern, who now sits 44th in the updated KenPom rankings and one spot ahead of Maryland. Head coach Chris Collins has watched his team bounce back since news on Valentine’s Day that Ty Berry would miss the remainder of the season due to injury. Still, Boo Bouie leads the team in scoring with 18.9 points per game while guard Ryan Langborg has caught fire over the last two games, shooting nearly 50% from the field and coming off consecutive 20-plus point performances. Brooks Barnhizer also chipped in a double-double and is the third Wildcat starter averaging double-figures, giving the Terps’ backcourt a defensive test with the Wildcats’ outside shooting.

Meanwhile, Donta Scott enters Wednesday just 16 points away from passing Melo Trimble from 14th in program history in scoring, along with 17 rebounds away from passing Tom McMillen for eighth all-time.

Maryland basketball eyeing revenge vs. Northwestern at home

Ahmed Ghafir