Something’s got to give when Maryland hosts Penn State in Sunday’s clash of two of the three Big Ten teams that have yet to win a conference game.
The Terrapins (7-10, 0-6) and the Nittany Lions (9-8, 0-6) are on common ground entering their game in College Park, Md. Both have lost four straight and seven of their last eight. They also have been hampered by the absence of their top scorers.
Maryland’s Pharrel Payne (17.5 points per game) has been out with a knee injury and Penn State’s Kayden Mingo (14.9) has been sidelined by a broken nose.
The Nittany Lions also may be without No. 2 scorer Freddie Dilione V (14.1), who suffered a right ankle injury during Wednesday’s 71-60 loss at home to UCLA.
One key difference between Maryland and Penn State: While all of the Big Ten losses for the Terrapins have come by double-digit margins, the Nittany Lions have had several close calls. Four of their league losses have come by single digits to ranked teams.
“It’s super frustrating,” Penn State’s Eli Rice said. “I mean, close doesn’t get you the win. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s still a zero in the column.”
Against the Bruins, the Nittany Lions were unable to overcome a 32-21 disadvantage on the boards and 4 of 22 (18.2%) shooting from 3-point range. Another factor was the early loss of Dilione, who played just eight minutes.
Maryland is coming off a West Coast road trip in which it sustained losses to UCLA by 12 and to Southern California by 17.
“If we could take the second half from UCLA and the first half from USC, those would be the two best halves,” head coach Buzz Williams said. “Unfortunately, they don’t let you do that.”
In the 88-71 loss to the Trojans on Tuesday, David Coit scored 30 points and Solomon Washington added 11 points and eight rebounds. The Terrapins only had six assists, with no player having more than one.
Maryland ranks last in the Big Ten with 39.8% accuracy from the floor and 31.2% from 3-point range. The Terrapins also commit more turnovers per game (13.2) than any team in the league.
–Field Level Media
