Preview: #21 Maryland basketball closes regular season vs. Penn State

No. 21 Maryland (20-10, 11-8) vs. Penn State (18-12, 9-10)

When: Sunday, March 5

Where: Bryce Jordan Center

TV: BTN – Jason Horowitz (pxp), Brian Butch (analyst)

Radio: WJZ-FM 105.7 (Baltimore), The TEAM 980 AM (D.C.)

Spread: Penn State -3.5

Maryland basketball fans, the last game of the season is finally here as the Terps take on the Penn State Nittany Lions Sunday afternoon. Beat Penn State and earn the two-seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

Simple right? Getting a win in the Big Ten is not easy. We have seen it year after year. That’s especially true given the logjam with seeding for the postseason. The Washington Post’s Patrick Stevens outlines other seeding scenarios for the Terps.

After beating Northwestern to close out their home schedule, they laid an egg on the road against Ohio State. In that 73-62 loss, forward Felix Okpara had an outstanding game. His first points came off of a monstrous two-handed slam. After that, the freshman showed that he could be a force in the Big Ten for years to come, finishing the game with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks.

His counterpart, Julian Reese, finished the game with 17 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks.

The Buckeyes won the rebound battle 32-24 and scored 18 second-chance points. While the turnover margin was small, the Terps had three early ones that set them back offensively. Willard didn’t speak for long with the media after the loss but continued to give credit to Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann for the way they played.

Penn State is another team coming off of a big win as the regular season winds down. They beat Northwestern 68-65 in overtime behind a solid performance from guard Camren Wynter who had 24 points, four rebounds, and three assists. He hit the game-winning three-pointer to seal the victory.

Boo Buie had the opportunity to tie the game at 68 with a three at the buzzer but missed. He finished with 20 points, eight assists, five rebounds, and three steals as the Wildcats lost their third straight game.

Wynter could be a factor once again in their matchup with the Terps. As always, Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy are players to watch. Andrew Funk shot the lights out at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill. with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including four threes.

Hakim Hart led all scorers with a season-high 23 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals in their 74-68 victory in College Park last month. Jahmir Young followed behind him with 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists. These two will be vitally important to the Terps’ success in locking up the No. 2 seed. They will also need good performances from Ian Martinez, Don Carey, and Patrick Emilien.

The latter three have played some of their best basketball down the stretch and could prove to be X-factor players for the Terps moving forward.

Maryland basketball scored more points in the paint (28-20) and capitalized off of 13 Nittany Lion turnovers with 17 points. They’ll have to do that again and more if they want to win arguably their most important game of the season.

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