Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
Maryland will return to the court for the first time in a week when it faces Iowa on Sunday afternoon. The Terrapins were able to snap their two-game losing streak with an 80-73 win against then-No. 24 Ohio State last Sunday. Iowa is riding a three-game winning streak following an overtime win against Michigan on Thursday.
Maryland looked like it might be one of the Big Ten favorites when it rattled off eight consecutive wins to open the year, including a 71-66 win against then-No. 16 Illinois. The Terrapins proceeded to lose three straight games after that, falling to Wisconsin, Tennessee ad UCLA. They bounced back with a pair of blowout wins against UMBC and St. Peter’s before losing to Michigan and Rutgers in two Big Ten road games earlier this month. Maryland snapped that losing skid with an 80-73 win against then-No. 24 Ohio State last Sunday and has had the week off since then.
Jahmir's first two Big Ten games at XFINITY:
27.0 PPG
7.5 RPG
2 winsRight at home pic.twitter.com/4MixOZXDQU
— Maryland Men's Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) January 12, 2023
The Terrapins have been an excellent defensive team this season, but they still have room for improvement offensively. They are outside the top 125 nationally in effective field goal percentage (51.2), turnover rate and offensive rebounding rate, which are three of KenPom’s “Four Factors.” Maryland has been particularly bad from the perimeter, shooting just 31.4% from 3-point range. The Terrapins are facing an Iowa defense that is No. 187 in turnover rate and No. 190 in field goal percentage. Senior guard Jahmir Young leads Maryland with 15.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, while senior forward Donta Scott is averaging 12.2 points and 5.8 rebounds. Maryland ranks No. 12 nationally in experience, with an average of 3.1 years of college experience on its roster.