Maryland vs. Minnesota: 2018-19 College basketball game preview, TV schedule
No. 24 Maryland basketball (21-9, 12-7 Big Ten) needs to beat Minnesota basketball (19-11, 9-10 Big Ten) Friday and some assistance from other teams to secure a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
TV Schedule: Friday, March 8 at 7 pm ET on FS1
Location: Xfinity Center in College Park, MD
Maryland basketball has not helped themselves losing their last two games to Penn State and Michigan. Minnesota basketball beat Purdue and Northwestern in their last two games and are looking to end the season on a high note with a third victory in as many games against the Terps.
According to InsideMDSports’ Jeff Ermann, here’s how Maryland can keep that last spot to earn the double-bye:
- Maryland beats Minnesota and Wisconsin loses twice
- Maryland beats Minnesota, Wisconsin loses one game, MSU beats Michigan and Purdue wins at Northwestern on Saturday.
If none of these work, Maryland basketball would finish fifth in the Big Ten and play the winner of Penn State and Nebraska, the 12th and 13th best Big Ten teams. Penn State is not the best matchup for Maryland seeing that they wiped the floor with them in their 78-61 win. The Terps beat Nebraska twice in the regular season so they would be the ideal matchup.
In the Terps 82-67 blowout of Minnesota basketball, Anthony Cowan Jr. (27 points, six rebounds, five assists) was a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line and 3-of-5 from behind the three-point line. His performance was supported by Jalen Smith’s 21 points and eight rebounds and Bruno Fernando’s 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Golden Gophers were an abysmal 9-of-23 (39 percent) from the free throw line and they were outrebounded 39-28. In their close victory against the Purdue Boilermakers, Amir Coffey went off for 32 points on 8-of-15 shooting and drained three of his four three-pointers. Against Northwestern, he got the same number of points and pull down 12 rebounds.
For Minnesota basketball to get a victory on the road they need to do a better job at the free throw line and on the boards. They will win this game also if they outrun the Terps on the fast break. Michigan did a great job of making the Terps uncomfortable when the basketball changed hands immediately.
The Terps can’t afford for Coffey to have a big game in their building. It’s important that they shut him down early. Darryl Morsell could be the guy for the job. This season he hasn’t been known for his offense but he has been a solid contributor on the defensive end. He did an excellent job in guarding Purdue’s Carsen Edwards in the second half of their February matchup.
Next. Final Four sleepers. dark
Maryland basketball needs to be ready for the Golden Gophers to come out aggressively as Penn State did. With a win, the Terps will need more dominoes to fall.