Game 18 - Maryland (13-5) vs. Nebraska (12-5)
Nuts & Bolts
Date: January 19, 2025
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Venue: XFINITY Center - College Park, MD
How to Watch: Big 10 Network
Matchup History: Maryland leads all-time series 12-4
Last Meeting: Maryland def. Nebraska 73-51 in College Park on 1/27/24
Prediction: Maryland 74, Nebraska 66
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Head Coach: Kevin Willard (3rd season, 51-35 record at Maryland)
Record: 13-5 (3-4, 10th in Big Ten)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 30
Last NCAA Tournament Appearance: 2023
Last Time Out: Lost @ Northwestern 76-74 in OT on 1/16/25
Highlights HERE
Player to Watch: Derik Queen
All four of Maryland’s Big 10 losses have come away from home.
Kevin Willard’s Terrapins are 3-4 in conference play: three wins at home, four loses on the road, the latest coming on Thursday night in heartbreaking fashion - a buzzer beater loss to Northwestern in overtime.
Following a disappointing trip to the West Coast last week, which resulted in back-to-back losses to Washington and #9 Oregon, the Terps did well when returning home, knocking off #22 UCLA by 18 and Minnesota by six before heading out of town again.
The team showed well overall, but stagnant offense resulting in 16 turnovers vs. just 12 assists once again led to the team coming up short on the road.
It’s a theme that’s been far too prevalent in Willard’s tenure as head coach. Now, in year three, there is an expectation to exhibit improvement where the team has fallen short in years past, particularly how it shows away from College Park, which has been a fortress for Maryland for years.
At home, Maryland is 11-1. On the road, 0-3.
Even if Maryland wins on Sunday afternoon against Nebraska, and they should, fans will be looking to the next two games on the schedule - a road trip to #19 Illinois on Thursday followed by a trip to Assembly Hall to take on struggling Indiana next Sunday afternoon.
If the Terps win each of the next three, all is well again. If it loses both on the road, there will start to be serious questions being asked of Willard and whether or not he is the right man for the job.
18 regular season games down, 13 to go.
Head Coach: Fred Hoiberg (6th season, 75-99 record at Nebraska)
Record: 12-5 (2-4, 12th in Big Ten)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 8
Last NCAA Tournament Appearance: 2024
Last Time Out: Lost vs. Rutgers 85-82 on 1/16/25
Highlights HERE
Player to Watch: Brice Williams
The Nebraska Cornhuskers are the only major conference program that has never won an NCAA Tournament team.
I went there, so I need to make sure everyone understands just how much suffering Husker fans have endured over the years.
Just a couple of weeks ago the Huskers were 12-2 fresh off a win over #15 UCLA and close to cracking into the Top 25 rankings.
Since, Fred Hoiberg’s squad has lost three straight for the first time in two years, including a 15 point blown lead in Iowa City, a 36 point loss in West Lafayette to Purdue, and, on Thursday night, the team’s first home conference loss in nearly two years, a 85-82 defeat to Rutgers.
Nebraska now heads to College Park in the midst of its worst stretch since January 2023 and plays the Terrapins in a building where the Huskers have not won in its last five tries.
For the Huskers to snap the losing skid, they’ll need the star guard Brice Williams to have a huge game. Defensively, he’ll need to work against Ja’Kobi Gillespie and probably needs to score north of 20 points for Nebraska to have a shot.
Besides, Williams, the scoring output from Juwan Gary must continue to be a focal point. The 6’6” senior forward is generally in that enforcer-type role for Nebraska, which they’ll need to have a chance in College Park.
The task is tall and the odds are long for Nebraska. Just a reminder to Maryland fans who are upset about losing some road games - It can always be worse.
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