Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball power rankings: Wisconsin and Nebraska make gains after start to league play

By Austin Walther

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 01: Ethan Happ #22 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates the 59-54 win over the Maryland Terrapins during the second round of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 1, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 01: Ethan Happ #22 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates the 59-54 win over the Maryland Terrapins during the second round of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 1, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 01: Bruno Fernando #23 of the Maryland Terrapins reacts after he is called for a foul late in the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers during the second round of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 1, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 01: Bruno Fernando #23 of the Maryland Terrapins reacts after he is called for a foul late in the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers during the second round of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 1, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

9. Maryland Terrapins (7-1)

Previous rank: 10

Maryland is off to a typical Maryland season. They are 7-1 with their only loss coming to Virginia. The Terrapins best win has been Marshall. The Thundering Herd is one of the favorites to win Conference USA. They are led by two great scorers. Maryland didn’t play in a Tournament and has only been away from the Xfinity Center once. The one Big Ten game so far was a seven-point victory over Penn State.

The Terrapins went up against their old ACC rival in Virginia. It was just a five-point loss, but they still haven’t won a game in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge since joining the Big Ten. It was an evenly matched game. They did manage to score 71 against the best defense in the country. Anthony Cowan dropped 15 points and dished four assists. Bruno Fernando recorded a double-double at 14 points and 11 boards.

Jalen Smith is having his freshman moments. He was a five-star recruit. He went under 10 points against the Cavaliers, but went off for 16 points and eight rebounds against Penn State in the Big Ten opener. Freshmen Eric Ayala and Aaron Wiggins show signs of being reliable scorers. Both have hit over 10 three-pointers this season, but they’re still young.

These guys have a critical match up with Purdue on Thursday if there ever was one in early December. They only have two Big Ten games for now, but a win over the Boilermakers would go pretty far later down the road. Purdue just missed out on being ranked. Maryland cracked the top-25 and it’ll be a great game of teams that need a win now.

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