After defeating Ohio State, No. 19 Maryland basketball (16-3, 7-1 Big Ten) is facing the best Big Ten team in the No. 6 Michigan State Spartans (16-2, 7-0 Big Ten).
Who: No. 19 Maryland Terrapins (16-3, 7-1 Big Ten) at No. 6 Michigan State Spartans (16-2, 7-0 Big Ten)
TV Schedule: Monday, January 21 at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1
Location: Breslin Center in East Lansing, MI
The top two teams in the Big Ten face each other with winning streaks at stake. Maryland basketball will have to contend with the Michigan State team and its fans in the Breslin Center. The Spartans are an undefeated 9-0 at home and they have won 11 games in a row since beating Rutgers 78-67 Nov 30.
In the Terps win against the Ohio State Buckeyes last Friday, Anthony Cowan Jr. (17.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.5 APG) did more of the same in leading the Terps to another win. Bruno Fernando (14.5 PPG, 10.2 RPG) earned his 10th double-double of the season in the win as well.
What the Terps will need against Michigan State is a balanced attack. This means all of the starters producing in addition to getting valuable minutes from the bench players. That’s how the Terps beat Ohio State. Cassius Winston (18.2 PPG, 7.3 APG), Nick Ward (16.6 PPG,7.1 RPG, 63 percent shooter from the field) and Joshua Langford (15 PPG, 3.6 RPG) are the leaders for the Tom Izzo led Spartans.
Who wins the following matchups will determine the game: Cowan Jr. vs Winston, Fernando vs Ward and the matchup between the two supporting casts. Both Cowan and Winston mirror each other with their speed and quickness when driving to the basket and they both know how to distribute the ball. Ward and Fernando are similar in stature so I think physicality and technique in the post will be a key for this one.
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Eric Ayala, Jalen Smith, and Darryl Morsell have been a strong supporting cast for the Terps. Ayala has done well next to Cowan Jr. in the backcourt and has had opportunities this season playing the point guard spot. He has excelled in each of those roles. Smith has been a nice complement to Fernando in the frontcourt. In big games, he has proven that he can make the necessary plays that get the job done. Morsell has been a solid contributor for the Terps even though he hasn’t had a big scoring game this season. He makes up for that by rebounding the ball, playing solid defense and capitalizing on fastbreak opportunities whether he pushes the ball or scores.
On the Spartans side, Joshua Langford, Xavier Tillman, and Matt McQuaid stand out. Maryland basketball has to play tight defense on Langford because if he gets a step for an open jumper, he’ll knock it down. Tilman is the Spartans second-leading rebounder with 7.6 rebounds a game so as long as the Terps can keep him at bay on the boards, they’ll have a good chance. McQuaid strikes me as a pure shooter. A pure shooter is dangerous, especially from the three-point line. The Terps can’t afford for McQuaid to get hot from out there as he shoots at 45 percent.
These two teams have been playing great basketball as of late and this game will be no different.