Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball: Week 9 power rankings

By Blaine Lewallen

EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 4: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans looks on during the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Breslin Center on January 4, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 4: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans looks on during the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Breslin Center on January 4, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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ORLANDO, FL – MARCH 16: Anthony Cowan (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL – MARCH 16: Anthony Cowan (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

Despite losing two of their main rotation players to season-ending injuries the past couple of weeks, the Terrapins managed to go 1-1 last week. This Terrapins team is still a solid team even without those guys, especially with Anthony Cowan running the show.

To begin the week, the Terrapins went on the road to East Lansing where they fell at the hands of the Spartans by a score of 91-61. This was a brutal blowout, but nobody really expects anyone to come out of East Lansing with a victory. Cowan led all scorers with 26 points, but the Terrapins shot just 37% from the field, compared to MSU’s 57%.

After getting blown out by the Spartans, the Terrapins came home and returned the favor to the Iowa Hawkeyes as they cruised to a 91-73 win. This was a much better performance by the Terrapins, as they had six players score in double figures, led by Bruno Fernando’s 21 points and 7 rebounds.

The inside-out punch of Cowan (16.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.6 apg) and Fernando (11.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg) has got to be one of the best in the conference, as these guys are among the best players in the league. Fernando has really improved throughout the season, and Cowan has emerged as one of the elite point guards in the conference. Kevin Huerter (14.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg) adds some nice scoring as well for the Terrapins. Don’t rule them out yet, although they still have a lot of adversity to overcome after their devastating injuries.

Schedule for this week:

Maryland at Ohio State (13-4, 4-0) on Jan. 11

Maryland at Michigan (14-3, 3-1) on Jan. 15

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