Maryland men’s basketball slid to No. 21 in the Associated Press poll released Monday following two consecutive defeats.
Last week, the Terps (16-5, 7-3 Big Ten) were outplayed by No. 6 Michigan State at the Breslin Center before Illinois pulled off an upset at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Maryland’s first losing streak this season prompted a fall of eight spots from No. 13 — the team’s highest ranking since the 2015-16 season.
Prior to last week’s results, the Terps had won seven straight games, including ones over then-No. 24 Nebraska and then-No. 22 Indiana. But after a convincing win against Ohio State, Maryland struggled to contain Michigan State — which lost to Purdue on Sunday — and its fast-paced offense. The Spartans scored 29 fast-break points.
Then, the Fighting Illini broke out for 27 points in transition and earned only their second Big Ten win this season in the 78-67 upset.
[Read more: Illinois’ defensive adjustments caught Maryland men’s basketball off-guard]
Maryland had entered the top 25 after a 6-0 start to the campaign, but fell out of the rankings after a 62-60 loss to Purdue on Dec. 6. The Terps’ loss to Seton Hall stagnated a climb back into the top-25, but they reentered Jan. 14 at No. 19 overall five games into their eventual seven-game winning stretch.
Four other Big Ten teams joined Maryland in the rankings, with Michigan and Michigan State remaining at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively. After knocking off the Spartans, Purdue moved up to No. 17 while Wisconsin reentered the rankings at No. 24 after a 2-0 week.
The Terps have a chance to recover Tuesday at Xfinity Center against Northwestern, which just lost to the Badgers — the team Maryland
