Maryland Basketball: 2019-20 keys to victory over Nebraska at home
By Jason Belt
Avoid playing down to competition against Nebraska
A theme with Maryland in recent years has been the fact that they seem to play down to their opponent’s level at times. In order to stay on top of the Big Ten, they will need to capitalize on opportunities for games against struggling teams, such as Nebraska.
During their game against Rutgers last Monday, the Terps struggled in the first half, going scoreless for about eight minutes of play. Not to discredit Rutgers, as they have had a very solid season so far, but this was a game that Maryland should have won by double-digits had they not played so poorly.
The key for a victory against a team like Nebraska, that is trying to play spoiler, is to try and play with the same intensity that they played with against Illinois. Looking at this game as a sure thing, and one that they may not need to give as much effort could lead to their downfall on Tuesday night.
Something Mark Turgeon could use to light a fire under for his team to want to play hard and beat the Cornhuskers could be last years matchup in the Big Ten Tournament.
The 5-seeded Terps waltzed into last years second round matchup with 13-seeded Nebraska thinking it was a cake walk.
Maryland had defeated Nebraska twice in the regular season, once on a game-winner by Jalen Smith, and the other by 15 in Lincoln. This had them thinking they had an easy road to the semi-finals, but Nebraska had other plans.
The Huskers outplayed the Terps from start to finish, winning 69-61 and advancing to the next round. It was another case of Maryland looking past a weaker opponent and letting their guard down. If they have this game in the back of their minds on Tuesday, it could help prevent the same thing from happening again.