When: Feb. 26, 2025 | 6:30 PM | Xfinity Center
TV: BTN | Jason Horowitz, Robbie Hummel, Andy Katz
Radio: One Maryland App | 105.7 FM (Baltimore) | 980 AM (DC) | SiriusXM channel 162/195
Betting: Maryland -3.5 | O/U: 150.5 (DraftKings)
The stage is set for Wednesday night in College Park in what is the most anticipated game for Maryland basketball fans in recent memory with Coach Izzo and Michigan State rolling into town. Maryland has announced a sold-out Xfinity Center with energy and excitement for this team that’s been missing in this program for far too long. For the first time since before the pandemic, Maryland basketball is on the national radar.
16th-ranked Maryland (21-6) and eighth-ranked Michigan State (22-5) are both inside the top four of the Big Ten standings and control their destiny for a double-bye in the Big Ten tourney. The Spartans sit atop the Big Ten, holding the tiebreaker head-to-head advantage over the Michigan Wolverines who are right behind them.
As for Maryland, they stand third in the Big Ten with a tiebreaker advantage over fourth place Wisconsin and fifth place UCLA as well along with a half-game lead over the Bruins as well. A Michigan State win would give them sole control of the regular season race, whereas Maryland has a chance with games against both Michigan and Michigan State remaining.
Maryland will look to remain undefeated at home in conference play with a chance to pick up their seventh Quad One win, tied for the fourth-most across college basketball.
“Being home, I'm never going to argue, never going to complain about being in this building,” Willard said of the Terps’ homestand. “Our record [is] pretty good here.”
With a chance to also end a six-game slide against the Spartans, the Terps have won eight of their last nine games and are one of America’s hottest teams. Currently sitting 15th on KenPom, Maryland has earned the national respect of all college hoops connoisseurs across the land. The Crab Five moniker has gained national recognition and for good reason.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, Selton Miguel, Juju Reese, and Derik Queen have taken the nation by storm. The unit’s 70.4 points per game are the most by any starting five among the power 4, and more points than 80 programs’ total game average on the season across Division One basketball.
The contrast between the Crab Five and Michigan State’s emptying the bench profile will be interesting to see unfold. Unlike Maryland, the Spartans play an incredibly deep rotation with ten players averaging 15 or more minutes per game compared to only six for the Terps. Depth wasn’t something that concerned Willard, though.
“You're still worrying about the same guys. I mean, if you don't take care of [Tre] Holloman and [Jaden] Akins and [Jeremy] Fears, you're in trouble anyways.”
Senior guard Jaden Akins leads the way for Michigan State with 13 points per game while freshman Jase Richardson, son of former Spartan and NBA guard Jason Richardson, is the lone other double-digit scorer with under 11 points per contest. Jaxon Kohler is averaging nearly eight points and eight rebounds while shooting over 51% from the field, while he posted a career-high 23 points in the Feb. 15 road win at Illinois as he's been the consistent force on the glass, becoming the first player in five seasons to record ten or more rebounds in four straight games. Jeremy Fears, who has started in all but one game this season, and Szymon Zapala round out the expected starting five. Junior guard Tre Holloman is a big piece to the Spartans' identity and has scored figures in three of his last five games while shooting over 50% from the field combined over his last three games.
Coen Carr, meanwhile, joins Holloman as an impact player off the bench where he posted consecutive ten-point outings in the wins against Illinois and Purdue.
Willard pointed to Akins and Holloman as “dogs” to lead the Spartans on both ends of the court.
“They don't care who they're playing, where they're playing, what they're up against. They're coming at you. They fit coach Izzo’s personality to a tee.”
The other end of the court is where Izzo and company make their stamp on the game with the second-best scoring defense in the conference only trailing UCLA.
“I think their pick-and-roll defense is really, really good,” Willard said of the Spartans’ defense. “Bigs do a great job hedging. Their guards work to get over screens. So I think they really take away some of your pick-and-roll actions that a lot of people use to get single tags, double tags, and I think they just do a really good job. Their big guys do a great job working and really making your guards make an extra pass but then they really just run you off the line.”
Izzo is also one of the best at preparing his squad for tough environments. Maryland is tied for the second most home wins in the country with a 16-1 record, but the Spartans have proven to be road warriors this season entering Wednesday 6-2 away from East Lansing. Most recently, the Spartans’ most impressive road win came in Ann Arbor against their in-state rival, with a nail-biting game that towards the end got out of reach for Michigan ending in a 75-62 win for Michigan State.
Wednesday night is the biggest night of the season for Maryland without question. The old saying that the most important game is the next game holds beyond just true for the Terps. Michigan State has dominated the all-time series with a 16-8 win-loss advantage over Maryland. However, all that can be forgiven by Terp Nation tonight if the Terps can knock the conference’s top dog in convincing fashion in hopes of their fourth top-25 win of the season.
By: Oliver Schaack
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