His first shot clanked off the rim. His second 3-pointer was errant, too. But when Terrapins men’s basketball guard Jared Nickens found a sliver of space beyond the arc for the third time in the opening minute of the second half of Saturday’s win at Purdue, he didn’t hesitate to heave another shot toward the rim.

Finally, the ball fell through the net.

“I knew I was open. I knew I was going to put it up,” Nickens said. “Everybody wants me to shoot that shot because they trust that I’ll make it.”

That confidence has helped Nickens carve an imprint on the No. 14 Terps’ surprising ascent into the Top 25 this season. And when his home-state school, Rutgers, pays a visit to Xfinity Center on Wednesday, the wiry 6-foot-6 freshman will be in the starting lineup and figures to play a key role in the Terps’ attempt to improve to 2-0 at home in conference play.

The Scarlet Knights (10-7, 2-2 Big Ten) offered Nickens a scholarship during his junior year of high school, but the sharpshooter decided to join the Terps (15-2, 3-1) after enjoying an official visit in which guard Dez Wells served as his host.

In the Terps’ victory over Purdue, Nickens started alongside Wells, and his shooting ability helped space the floor for the veteran. The Monmouth Junction, New Jersey native has shot 36.6 percent on 3-pointers this season, and his quick release often keeps his defender from clogging up the middle of the floor.

That’s part of the reason coach Mark Turgeon plans to send Nickens out for his fifth career start Wednesday.

“When he’s out there,” Turgeon said, “it really opens things up for [guard] Melo [Trimble] to drive the ball more and Dez to drive the ball more.”

But 17 games into his career, Nickens is now called on to do more than just shoot.

“He continues to defend well and rebound well for us,” Turgeon said. “As long he’s defending well, he’s going to stay in whether he’s making shots or not making shots.”

Nickens will look to maintain his steady play Wednesday against a Rutgers team that knocked off then-No. 4 Wisconsin on Sunday. The Terps took notice of the upset, which came while Badgers star center Frank Kaminsky was sidelined with concussion symptoms.

Guard Myles Mack and forward Kadeem Jack combined for 41 points in the Scarlet Knights’ first win over a top-5 team in program history.

“Just the fact that they beat the No. 4 team in the country is going to bring a lot of hype to this game to see if they can do it again to one of the best teams in the Big Ten,” Layman said.

Turgeon was glad to see Rutgers pull off the upset because he figures it’ll help his team avoid looking past the Scarlet Knights to Saturday’s rematch with a surging Michigan State team.

Nickens, who averages 6.2 points and 19.8 minutes per game, said he wouldn’t have taken the bout with Rutgers lightly anyway. He has a little extra motivation, considering he attended several Scarlet Knights games while growing up about 20 minutes away from the campus.

Plus, Nickens knows several Rutgers players, including Mack and Jack.

“It should be fun,” Nickens said of battling his pals.

Nickens said he won’t be too anxious Wednesday in the Terps’ return to College Park after a two-game road trip. As he has throughout the first two months of the season, the rookie simply wants to play his role, which includes hurling shots toward the rim whenever he’s open, regardless of where his previous attempts ended up.

“We all want Jared shooting those threes,” Trimble said, “whether he’s misses a couple, air-balled a couple, we still want him shooting.”