Purdue vs Maryland: 2022-23 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
By Joey Loose
An intriguing Big Ten matchup has Purdue heading on the road again; can the Boilermakers get back on track or can the Terrapins get a resume-altering win at home?
TV schedule: Thursday, February 16, 6:30 pm ET. BTN
Arena: XFINITY Center in College Park, Maryland
Purdue (23-3) is still sitting in a great position this season, but the last two weekends have left the Boilermakers scratching their heads. Recently the top-ranked team in the country, they’ve suffered road losses each of the last two weekends, losing at Indiana and Northwestern to drop two of their last three outings. With this being another road trip, can the Boilermakers stop the sudden skid?
Obviously, the conversation with Purdue always starts with junior center Zach Edey (22.2 ppg, 13.0 rpg), whose size and proficiency have been a major part of the Boilermakers’ success this season. It’s the play of the rest of the lineup that’s worth watching, including those two talented freshman guards. Fletcher Loyer (12.2 ppg, 2.5 apg) and Braden Smith (9.9 ppg, 4.4 apg) both struggled against Northwestern, though Smith is just a week removed from a 24-point performance in a win over Iowa.
Purdue is currently ranked 3rd in the nation in the AP Top 25 and sits 4th in both KenPom and the NET rankings. Both the offense and defense have been in good shape this season, with the offense ranking among the Top 10 in efficiency. Unfortunately, a poor outing back on Sunday headed that poor effort with the Wildcats. Leaning on freshman guards can lead to outings like this; days when Edey’s prominence isn’t enough to win away from home.
For Maryland (17-8), things have been going relatively better in recent weeks, especially as they’ve been in a softer part of their schedule. The Terrapins got their season off to an impressive start, but have had some mind-boggling performances this season. Now winners of five of their last six, does this team have what it takes to knock off the #3 team in the nation?
Senior guard Jahmir Young (16.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg) has been the player to watch at Maryland this year, but he’s far from alone in notoriety. Senior guard Hakim Hart (11.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg) led the team in scoring in their most recent win over Penn State. Senior forward Donta Scott (12.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg) is dependable despite a relatively quiet season, while sophomore forward Julian Reese (10.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg) continues to be the top rebounder and is the youngest piece of this rotation.
Unranked for a while now, Maryland still sits 23rd in KenPom and 28th in the NET. They have a decently ranked defense and have worked their way back up to 8-6 in Big Ten play. The Terrapins are going to be an NCAA Tournament team, showing their skill in wins over Miami, Illinois, and Indiana already this season. One more great performance could seal the deal.
When these two teams played in West Lafayette last month, the Boilermakers hung on and won by just three points. Neither team shot the ball well from long range, and the Terrapins managed to take care of the basketball. Edey had 24 points and 16 rebounds and it’s likely he’ll have a similar performance this time; though Maryland will clearly have to focus on slowing him down as they can.
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Purdue is looking to prove that they can win on the road again, something they didn’t struggle with earlier in conference play. What will decide this game is the guard play on both sides. If Maryland takes care of the basketball and doesn’t fall behind like last time, they can absolutely win this game. However, we expect the Boilermakers to play better than last time, especially after another heartbreaking road loss. Expect Purdue to get their 13th conference win.