Maryland basketball took a couple of tough blows heading into the new year. How can the Terrapins adjust and survive these injuries to the team?
Outside of Michigan State and Purdue, the Big Ten conference is wide open, with a number of teams vying to be in the top four of the standings.
One of them is Maryland 12-3 (1-1), who after splitting their opening conference games, went through an easy schedule during the rest of December. The losses, unfortunately, came off the court, with a pair of rotation players going down for the season with injuries.
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First came sophomore forward Justin Jackson, who scored just under 10 points a game while leading the team in rebounding at 8.1 rebounds. He was an underrated passer as well, tied for third on the team in assists, with 1.9 assists per game. He may not be the same caliber of a scorer as Anthony Cowan or Kevin Huerter, but did all the proverbial “dirty work” for the Terrapins. Jackson was declared out for the season with a torn labrum.
But he wasn’t the only loss for the team, as 6’9″ forward Ivan Bender went down for the season with a torn meniscus in his knee. The junior only averaged a few points and rebounds a game, but was a reliable defender and started almost half of their games this season. He also provided solid depth for coach Mark Turgeon.
The impact of these injuries, of course, will be felt in the frontcourt depth, with 41.7 mpg now missing from the rotation. That leaves Bruno Fernado and Michal Cekovsky as the only true “bigs” in the rotation with Jared Nickens taking Jackson’s place as the undersized “four.” Duke graduate transfer Sean Obi is still on the roster, but Turgeon just hasn’t been interested in seeing him play outside of garbage minutes.
The offense has already taken a hit, with Maryland scoring just 18 points in the first 20 minutes against UMBC. A team that came into the season pretty balanced now will rely solely on Huerter and Cowan for scoring production. When it comes to grabbing rebounds, Cekovsky only averages 3.6 rebounds, so the freshman Fernando might have to get to double figures to keep the Terrapins competitive on the board battles.
As far as the Big Ten goes, Maryland will struggle mightily against the likes of Michigan State, Purdue, and Minnesota, teams with great post play. Wisconsin with Ethan Happ and Michigan with Moritz Wagner also pose huge threats to this depleted frontline.
But that doesn’t mean that this team’s NCAA hopes are dashed. None of the three losses are bad, with Syracuse winning games and St. Bonaventure unbeaten with star player Jalen Adams playing. That can’t be said for several other teams in a similar position.
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Along with freshman guard Darryl Morsell, Maryland has a good enough perimeter to finish in the top half of the league and at the very least be in the thick of the bubble conversation. But the rebounding numbers will be important to watch as well as Fernando’s continuing development. The Terrapins are on the ropes, but not out by a long shot.