Maryland Basketball: 2021-22 preview for home matchup vs Iowa Hawkeyes

Maryland Basketball is looking to get back on track in the friendly confines of the Xfinity Center in College Park as they face Iowa in a critical Big 10 Conference matchup.

TV schedule: Thursday, February 10, 2022, on ESPN2 at 7:00 PM EST

Location: Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland

Maryland (11-12, 3-9 Big 10) is looking to end a three-game skid as they welcome Iowa (15-7, 5-6 Big 10) to town for a Big 10 Conference matchup with possible Big 10 tournament seeding implications.

Maryland is looking to improve to 4-0 in rematches following losses earlier in the season, having defeated Northwestern, Illinois, and Rutgers after previous defeats. The Terps and Hawkeyes met earlier in the year at the Carver-Hawkeye Center in a game that went back and forth, but in the end, the Hawkeyes defeated the Terps 80-75 in a game that the Terps had an opportunity to win.

As a team Iowa is 2nd in the Big 10 conference in scoring offense (82 ppg), 2nd in scoring margin (+11), as well as leading the Big 10 in steals (8 spg). The Hawkeyes are led by sophomore Keegan Murray (22.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, and 55% field goal percentage), as Murray is not only the Big 10 scoring leader but is fourth in the country as well in scoring

The Terps are led by the Big 3 Sr. Eric Ayala (15.7 ppg and 4.7 rpg)., Sr. Fatts Russell (12.9 ppg and 80 assists) and Junior Donta Scott (12.3 ppg and 6.3 rpg). Maryland currently leads the Big Ten in free throws made (349) and is second in free throws attempted (465), while shooting (75%) from the stripe, which is 5th in the Big 10.

Here are what the Terps are needing to do in order to win this game

The Terps defense is going to have to step up and play some solid defense, as it is likely that Murray is going to get his points, as the last time these two teams played Murray tied a career-high with 35 points. So, the Terps have to make sure the rest of Iowa does not score and to hold the Hawkeyes to one shot. Iowa is second in the conference in scoring with 82 ppg and the Terps are 11th in the league at 67 ppg.

The next two things go hand and hand and must happen

Maryland Head Coach Danny Manning has been preaching this all season long and that is “paint touches”. When the Terps get “paint touches” and get when they get Qudus Wahab and Julian Reece involved good things happen and the Terps are a tough load to handle. So with the Terps at -15 scoring margin against Iowa, every possession will be important for the Terps and they must get quaility and high percentage shots.

The second part of the “paint touches” equation is who will step up to be the man?. Will it be Ayala, Russell, Scott, maybe even Hakin Hart? If the Terps want to win this game, the Big 3 will have to lead the way and hit those open jumpers and drive to the rim to get those paint touches. If you are a Terps fan, you know exactly what I’m talking about, as we have seen what happens when they play inside-out, they are a dangerous team.

Prediction: The Terrapins are 6-1 when Eric Ayala scores 20+ points and 13-2 in his career overall. I think Ayala goes for over 20 points and Wahab and Reece have big nights and the Terps get a much-needed win.

Prediction: Maryland 77 – Iowa 70