Maryland Basketball: Keys for Terps upset bid against No. 17 Minnesota

Great defensive effort

The Terp’s are going to have to limit the Golden Gophers to one and done on the offensive end of the floor, as Maryland will have to squeeze the orange in order to limit Minnesota’s second-chance points on the offensive glass.

Minnesota is a very good offensive rebounding team, as they are fourth in the Big 10 conference in offensive rebounding at 11.5 rpg while the Terp’s are last in the league in offensive rebounds at 7.5 rpg.  Minnesota is last in the league in field percentage at .413 percent. Maryland is going to have to all hands on deck when it comes to the boards for this game.

While we are talking about rebounding here is a good omen for the Terps and something you would not expect from a team that does not have a dominant rebounding big man.  Maryland has won 16 consecutive games when outrebounding their opponents, which includes seven games this year. Included in this year’s games is a road win at Wisconsin, in which,  Maryland outrebounded Wisconsin on the road 32-29.

The best offense is a great defense, which includes rebounding. This is Maryland’s calling card this year, when the defense is on, the offense reflects it and when the defense is not playing so well, it is also reflected on the offensive end. Maryland has proven they can rebound and also can win big games on the road. This game against Minnesota will be tough if the Terp’s give up offensive rebounds.