Game Preview: Penn State vs. Maryland

Story posted February 6, 2018 in CommRadio, Sports by Trevor Palfey

This Wednesday night, the Penn State Nittany Lions men’s basketball team will battle the Maryland Terrapins at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania.  This matchup pins two very similar basketball teams up against each other in what is sure to be a competitive basketball game.  The Terrapins took the first matchup back on January 2nd in Maryland with a score of 75-69.  Now a month later, both teams come into the game with overall records of 16-9 and are searching for that 17th win of the season.  The Nittany Lions won their last game by 24 points in a rout of the Iowa Hawkeyes and are currently ranked 6th in the Big Ten conference standings.  While Maryland comes into this game ranked 8th in the Big Ten and just recently snapped their 3-game losing skid by defeating Wisconsin by 5 points on Sunday.

In order for Penn State to get revenge for their earlier loss against Maryland, they will need to feed Mike Watkins early and often, as he is 1st in the Big Ten and 5th in the nation in field goal percentage shooting at 69.3%.  Watkins will also need to control the paint by rebounding on both ends and blocking the ball on the defensive end.  Watkins sits at 2nd in the conference in both rebounds and blocks.  The Nittany Lions will also need the two Big Ten leaders in steals, Josh Reaves and Jamari Wheeler, to force turnovers throughout the game.  Reaves and Wheeler will be vital for Penn State to defend their home court.  Additionally, Tony Carr, who is 2nd in points per game in the Big Ten averaging 19.5 points, must get the ball and create space for himself to score. 

Maryland will look to complete the sweep of the Nittany Lions this season by relying on their floor general, sophomore point guard Anthony Cowan.  Cowan averages 5 assists a game for the Terrapins, which is 4th in the Big Ten, and also leads his team in points and steals per game.  Cowan is a major key to Maryland’s success this year and they will look to him to play well in order for them to get a Big Ten road victory.  Kevin Huerter is another dangerous weapon for the Terrapins as well.  Huerter is quite the sharpshooter, shooting an impressive 44.7% from behind the 3-point line and averaging 14.6 points per game.     

Both the Nittany Lions and Terrapins desperately need to win this game in order to keep their dreams of dancing in the NCAA Tournament in March intact.  Both teams cannot afford to lose many more games before the Big Ten Tournament because their résumés are not that great, to begin with.  Regardless of all that, this should be an entertaining game to watch as it will be a very hard fought and competitive conference basketball game.  The game between Penn State and Maryland will tip off at the Bryce Jordan Center on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network.

 

Trevor Palfey is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email tgp5065@psu.edu.