Maryland Basketball: 2019-20 keys to home victory over Michigan State

Keep Jalen Smith on the floor

Things were not looking good for Maryland with 16:02 remaining in the first half of their game at Minnesota on Wednesday.

Sophomore phenom Jalen Smith had just picked up his second foul in the first four minutes of action, forcing him to sit on the bench for the majority of the half.

Smith’s absence gave way to Minnesota mounting a huge first-half lead, constantly feeding their star big man Daniel Oturu, who scored a game-high 28 points while snagging 11 rebounds.

Chol Marial took Smith’s place for a short period, but it was clear that the agility of Oturu was going to cause problems for him defensively. Joshua Tomaic stepped in in place of Marial, but eventually picked up three fouls as well, forcing Mark Turgeon to bring Smith back into the game.

It was evident that the Terps were lacking the inside presence of Smith on both ends, getting out rebounded and playing poor interior defense while he was on the bench, which is something that can’t happen if they want to beat Michigan State.

As far as Jalen Smith’s matchup goes, he will up against Xavier Tillman. Tillman had 18 points and 11 boards in the first game, while Smith almost matched him, dropping 17 points and 10 rebounds himself.

Neither big really struggled with foul trouble in that game, and we were able to see the head to head matchup for nearly the full forty minutes.

Since Maryland is lacking front court depth, it is crucial that Jalen Smith stays out of foul trouble and on the floor for as much of the game as possible. The Terps will need their star to shine bright on Saturday.