Following their victory over Minnesota on Wednesday night, Maryland will face off against #21 Northwestern in their final home game of the season. The Wildcats are coming off of a loss to Illinois on Thursday night, but had won five games in a row before that. During that stretch, they pulled off upset victories over Purdue and Indiana. Chris Collins' squad has been led by senior guard Boo Buie, who's averaging 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. Despite losing their last game, he scored 35 points (56% of the team's scoring total). Their biggest strength is their defense, which KenPom ranks as the conference's third-best behind Rutgers and Purdue.
As things stand currently, Northwestern would be the #2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament while Maryland would be the #5. If the Terps want to obtain that coveted double-bye, a win in this game would go a long way towards that.
KenPom Rankings
- Maryland: #17 (#29 AdjO, #28 AdjD; #290 AdjT)
- Northwestern: #42 (#102 AdjO, #20 AdjD; #285 AdjT)