Preview: Maryland looks to bounce back at home vs Michigan State

Maryland (11-7, 3-4) vs. Michigan State (11-7, 3-4)
When & where: Jan. 21, 2024 | 12:00 PM | Xfinity Center
TV: CBS–Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery
Radio: 105.7 FM (Baltimore) | 980AM (DC) | SiriusXM channel 381
Betting odds: Maryland +2 | O/U: 134.5 (DraftKings)

Maryland will look to pick up its second win against either a Quad One or Two opponent, and they’ll do so against a squad that’s disappointed through the first half of the season similar to Maryland. Projected to finish second in the Big Ten in preseason rankings, the Spartans reeled off consecutive wins at home last week over Rutgers and Minnesota after falling to both Northwestern and Illinois the week prior. Tyson Walker took over Thursday’s game over the Gophers, scoring 12 points over the final 3:46 to lead Michigan State to a 76-66 win.

“The best way I can say it is this is the time of year where you gotta do two things: You gotta win games, and you gotta be progressing every game, you gotta be getting better every game,” Spartans head coach Tom Izzo said following Thursday’s win. “We won a game, we did not progress. And I was very disappointed.”

Similar to Jahmir Young’s impact for Maryland, Walker has been the spark for the Spartans this season as the fifth-year guard averages sits within the top ten in the conference in scoring (20), field goal percentage (48.5%), steals (1.8) and made threes (2.1). Jahmir Young and Tyson Walker represent two of the three Big Ten players averaging over 20 points per game this season. After watching Young go head-to-head with Boo Buie in Evanston on Wednesday, the Terps’ backcourt will have its hands full limiting Walker while A.J. Hoggard has been exceptional running the offense and sits third in the conference in assists per game (5.2).

Jaden Adkins and Hoggard have been able to provide scoring support for Walker as all four upperclassmen enter Sunday averaging double-figures with Izzo leaning on a deeper rotation. Julian Reese has been able to respond since his quiet showing against Purdue back on Jan. 2, but he’ll have his hands full in the paint with Malik Hall owning the post for the Spartans, averaging roughly ten points and five boards while scoring at least 14 points in five of his last six games.

Maryland has gone as far as Jahmir Young has taken them so far this season, averaging 26.5 points over his last six games with two 30-point outings. He’s also just the second Big Ten player since 1996-97 to average over 30 points in true road games, joining Carsen Edwards (Purdue), and is on pace to become the first Terp since Greivis Vasquez to average over 20 points, four rebounds and four assists per game. Donta Scott has been able to step up as the secondary scoring option to Young through January, while Jordan Geronimo has been able to provide more on the offensive end, averaging 10.5 points over his last two games.

Yet for a Maryland team struggling to find balanced scoring, Michigan State enters Sunday among the best defensive teams in the country, holding teams to under 40% shooting from the field and 31% from three while outscoring their opponents by an average of over 11 points per game.

Sunday marks the first of two matchups between the teams as Maryland is set for a trip to East Lansing on Feb. 3, but Maryland will look to capitalize back in Xfinity. While the Terps have lost the last four games in the series, the Spartans are just 1-5 away from the Breslin Center while Maryland enters Sunday 9-1 inside the Xfinity Center.

Maryland will also honor former head coach Lefty Driesell during Sunday’s game as the Terps sport the iconic ‘Script’ Terps to pay tribute to the 1970s teams.

May 18, 2024

Preview: Maryland looks to bounce back at home vs. Michigan State

Ahmed Ghafir