Maryland vs. Northwestern
When: Sunday, Dec. 1 || Noon ET
Where: XFINITY Center || College Park, MD
Watch: Big Ten Network - Ed Cohen (Play-by-Play), Christy Winters-Scott (Analyst)
Listen: 105.7 FM (Balt) / 980AM (DC) - Johnny Holliday, Chris Knoche, Walt Williams
Maryland returns to the Xfinity Center for their Big Ten opener against Northwestern, but Sunday marks the first time in 11 seasons that Mark Turgeon won’t be along the Terrapin sideline. Maryland and Turgeon announced on Friday afternoon that the two sides agreed to mutually part ways with first-year assistant coach Danny Manning stepping in as the interim.
“I take a great deal of responsibility in being named interim head coach of the Maryland men’s basketball program,” Manning wrote on Friday night. “Our staff remains focused on making sure we are there to support our players in every facet. I ask the entire Maryland community to rally around our players and all our families and be there to support them throughout the rest of the season.”
Given the circumstances the last 72 hours surrounding Maryland basketball, Sunday’s contest will be increasingly interesting given fan atmosphere and perception towards a Maryland team in turmoil.
Nonetheless, it’s time for basketball as Maryland is set to open its eighth Big Ten season where they finished in the top-five in five of the first seven seasons. They’ll look to kick off conference play on the right foot as Maryland holds a 10-3 all-time record against Northwestern, including nine of the last 11 games and an undefeated mark at home.
So what should Maryland watch out for? We break down three things to watch on Sunday.
1. Emotional aspect
Maryland will try to put a difficult past couple of days behind them, but that’s easier said than done. For returning guys like Eric Ayala and Donta Scott, can they help stabilize the newcomers on the court? Can interim head coach Danny Manning get through to the team when they’ll need it? What will the fan reaction be in wake of Turgeon’s exit and, realistically, what level of fan support will the Terps enjoy through 40 minutes? There’s no doubt that the Big Ten opener will be the most emotional game that Maryland will play since Gary Williams was on the sideline. It will be interesting to watch, but given that Maryland fans got what they wanted with Turgeon now gone, the players should get the support they deserve with the remainder of the season still ahead of them.
2. Can Terps find their shot?
Maryland has struggled shooting the ball outside the paint and enter Sunday’s contest shooting just 42.5% from the field, compared to Northwestern’s 46.4% mark. Northwestern has trotted out the same starting five in all seven games so far this season with forward Pete Nance (17.3 points), the younger brother of Cleveland Cavaliers forward Larry Nance, and guard Boo Buie (16.7 points). The Wildcats also enter Sunday’s game shooting nearly 38% from deep, testing the Big Ten’s worst perimeter defense thus far this season.
3. Bench production
It hasn’t been much for Maryland so far this year as the Terps’ bench accounts for just 15 of Maryland’s 70 points per game. Ian Martinez, Julian Reese, and Xavier Green have been the first three off the bench but have combined to shoot under 40% from the field this season. Freshman forward Julian Reese has made a seamless transition into the frontcourt, though, and has been an asset replacing Qudus Wahab at times against more athletic big men. Against a Northwestern team that sits top five in both field goal and three-point percentage, Maryland will need to find more production from their eight-man rotation to come away with their first conference win.