#24 Maryland Hosts Top 25 Tilt Against Red Hot #12 Purdue

Location: XFinity Center, College Park, Maryland.

Date and Time: February, 12. 6:30 PM EST. Big 10 Network

All-Time Series: Maryland leads 2-0.

Background Information:

This is just the 3rd meeting in each other’s histories and the first since 2016. Maryland has turned into a pretty respectable basketball program and have had some great players recently from the program like Melo Trimble, Alex Len, Jake Layman, and Kevin Huerter.

This year’s squad is led by G Anthony Cowan who is averaging 14.8 PPG and 4.5 APG. But the player people will be watching out for is potential lottery pick F Bruno Fernando. The IMG Academy alum is having a fantastic season with 14.8 PPG and 10 rebounds per contest. Some Maryland teams have been really good/elite and this one is not quite to the level of elite, but they are still very, very good. Maryland bolsters wins over #24 Nebraska, #22 Indiana, and current #20 Wisconsin. If there is one person to watch out for in this game, it just might be G Eric Ayala. Ayala won’t put up the most points in a game, but when he is on the floor, he is effective with the basketball. He’s shooting better from 3 point range than he is from 2 on the season (47% to just 43%) and is a solid free throw shooter on the season at 75%.

There are two players in CBB heading into this draft that remind me of Russell Westbrook. A guy with a high motor, relentless shooter, and creates plays for others. One of those guys is G Carsen Edwards. Edwards can score as he averages 22.4 PPG in conference and the closest player to him is F Ryan Cline with 11. The problem with these team entirely is they are hitting their stride at the right time and no one wants to face Purdue.

They started out with a really tough non-conference and dropped games to Virginia Tech, Florida State, Michigan, Texas, and Notre Dame with one win that timeframe (Ironically, it was Maryland). After that loss to Notre Dame on December, 15th, Purdue has lost just one game. Yes Purdue has lost one game in the last 2 months. Purdue has been on fire with wins over #25 Iowa, Indiana, #6 Michigan State, and #20 Wisconsin. This team is playing extremely well and I would be nervous for anyone that has Purdue left on their schedule.

Keys to a win for Purdue:

Something Purdue does well is keep a hold of the ball. They are 11th in the nation in coughing up the ball and opponents don’t get a chance to strip the Boilermakers very often. Maryland also doesn’t shoot a ton of threes, but when they do, they’ve done a good of knocking them down (37% on the season as a team). Maryland is not a good inside scoring team with those numbers inflated from good performances from Bruno Fernando. Applying pressure on the inside and making them take tough, contested shots in the paint might be the move for the Boilermakers on defense. Don’t give them open looks on the perimeter because they can make some of those.

Keys to a win for Maryland:

Rebounding. Rebounding. Rebounding. Maryland is 3rd in the nation in Rebounding and is in the Top 25 in defensive rebounding. Purdue is 223rd in Rebounding and aren’t great at it. This is a game where Maryland is going to need as many second chances as possible and outrebounding Purdue will be a huge key in this contest. Maryland is also rather disciplined as they don’t foul much and keep opponents away from the free throw line (Top 50 in the nation in both categories). If Bruno Fernando has a huge day on the glass and gets 12+ rebounds, Maryland has a good chance at a W.

Final Verdict:

Mark Turgeon has done a great job with the program. Ever since his first year, where he finished 17-15, He has taken Maryland to 3 NCAA Tournaments and has a 67% winning record while at Maryland. But Purdue is so hot right now and the home environment will help the Terrapins, but in the end, Purdue will pull it out and make it 9 wins in a row. Purdue 80, Maryland 69.

Image Credit: https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-basketball/2018/2/18/17024470/bruno-fernando-rutgers-rebounds-dunks-threes-stats-recap