Who: Maryland Terrapins (18-2, 6-1 Big Ten) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (15-6, 3-5 Big Ten)
When: Saturday January 28th at 2:15 p.m. EST
Where: Williams Arena (aka The Barn), Minneapolis, Minnesota
Channel: Big Ten Network
Livestream: BTN-2-GO
In Maryland’s last game, Rutgers proved to be a tougher test than many assumed. The Scarlet Knights were 1-6 in conference before the matchup but kept the score close, despite what the 67-55 final result might show.
While Maryland’s offense started off the season slow, it will have to be ready to pounce on the Gophers in Saturday’s road matchup. This will be as difficult as any Big Ten road game.
What to watch for Maryland
Before facing off against Rutgers, freshman Anthony Cowan was playing some of the best basketball of his young Maryland career. In the three games leading up to it, he was averaging 16.3 points while shooting 72.7 percent from the floor. Cowan was not just scoring, he was lighting up his opponents. Against Rutgers, he was a non-factor, scoring three points while shooting 1-7 from the floor, his worst shooting performance in conference play. Maryland has one week to fine tune themselves before playing No. 20 Purdue and they cannot afford any of their key contributors to go into that game cold.
What to watch for Minnesota
Minnesota is getting desperate. They are on a four game losing streak and have now become a bubble team for the NCAA tournament. In Richard Pitino’s four seasons in Minneapolis, all he has to show is an NIT Championship, which came in year one. Despite this year’s team having more wins already than last year (8-23 in 2016), eventually he is going to be on the hot seat if they miss out on another NCAA tournament. Minnesota is 12-2 at home and has lost their last three by a margin of six points or less. The Gophers need a win and this is their biggest home game for the rest of the season; expect a big fan turnout.
