Maryland men’s basketball vs. Washington preview
After incomes its highest high quality win of the season over Iowa on Feb. 11, Maryland men’s basketball has entered a two-game skid. In his final contest towards Northwestern, Andre Mills shined tremendously with 39 factors, however his counterparts added on simply 35 extra within the defeat.
With 5 video games remaining within the season, the Terps are nonetheless aiming to salvage some last-minute victories. Washington presents a possibility for that.
The Huskies have a greater report than each of the Maryland applications just lately misplaced to, however they’re nonetheless simply .500 on the yr. In their final match, they picked up a house victory over Minnesota, however they misplaced by three to Penn State within the earlier sport.
Saturday’s sport will start at 3 pm and stream on Peacock.
Washington Huskies (13-13, 5-10 Big Ten)
Head coach Danny Sprinkle is in his second yr on the helm of the Huskies. His first yr was underwhelming, because the staff completed 13-18. Most of Sprinkle’s commendable work as a head coach got here throughout his time with Utah State — he led the Aggies to a Mountain West regular-season title and NCAA Tournament look. All-Big Ten honorable point out ahead Great Osobor made the transfer to Seattle alongside Sprinkle, however the senior ran out of eligibility.
Before his time with the Aggies, Sprinkle spent 4 years as head coach of Montana State, the place he guided this system to 2 NCAA Tournament berths.
Hannes Steinbach, freshman ahead, 6-foot-11, No. 6 — The lack of Osobor hurts a bit bit much less for Sprinkle and firm, and it is all due to the Germany native that has burst onto the scene. In what has been top-of-the-line freshman courses nationally lately, Steinbach is undoubtedly close to the highest. He’s averaging an 18-point, 11.3-rebound double double — these 18 factors per sport lead the staff.
Steinbach leads the Power Five with 16 double doubles and is fourth within the nation in rebounds per sport.
Zoom Diallo, sophomore guard, 6-foot-4, No. 5 — As a guard, Diallo sits twelfth within the convention with a 48.8 area aim proportion. He’s second on the staff in factors per sport (14.7). Despite what his identify would possibly point out, Diallo’s strengths are his dimension and physicality, and he is capable of exploit weak matchups persistently and get to the free throw line.
Franck Kepnang, graduate scholar heart, 6-foot-11, No. 11 — Although Kepnang averages simply 6.1 factors per sport, his affect comes on the defensive finish. He’s totaled 55 blocks this season — 30 greater than the staff’s subsequent closest participant — and is a reliable asset, beginning 24 of 26 video games.
Rebouding. The Huskies pull down a mean of 12 offensive rebounds per sport, good for fourth-best within the convention and simply behind Maryland. But they’re additionally equally as adept on the defensive glass, rating fourth within the Big Ten in rebounds per sport (37.3).
Three-point capturing. This was imagined to be Northwestern’s weak spot heading into Wednesday’s sport, however they hit 12 treys on over 50% capturing. Washington at the moment has the fourth-lowest 3-point proportion within the convention (32.1), however the Terps cannot defend the arc complacently.
1. Andre Mills’ growth. Over the previous eight video games, Mills has posted scoring totals of 16, 18, 24 and 39. His ascension as a participant has been an especially welcome sight for Terps followers in a down yr. It might be value watching whether or not the freshman guard can construct off his supernova efficiency Wednesday.
2. Collin Metcalf minutes. The senior switch from Northeastern has seen a severe uptick in enjoying time just lately, beginning and enjoying a minimum of quarter-hour in every of the staff’s final six video games. His paint presence and rebounding chops might be very important in combating a staunch offensive rebounding staff within the Huskies.
3. Diggy Coit bounce-back? In Maryland’s two consecutive losses, Coit posted scoring totals of simply 12 and seven, respectively. Coit’s high-scoring shows sometimes bode effectively for the Terps — his final three video games with greater than 15 factors all resulted in wins. It might be attention-grabbing to see if the guard can get off to a scorching begin Saturday.
