Opponent: Northwestern (15-10, 6-6 Big Ten)
Location: Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland
Tipoff date/time: Saturday, Feb. 10, noon EST
Last game: Maryland lost to Penn State 74-70, Northwestern beat Michigan 61-52
Last meeting: Northwestern beat Maryland, 72-64, in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals on March 10, 2017
TV: ESPN2 with Jason Benetti (Play-by-Play) and Jason Capel (Analyst)
Streaming: WatchESPN.com
Radio: 105.7 FM (Balt.) / ESPN 980 AM (DC) with Johnny Holliday (Play-by-Play), Chris Knoche (Analyst) and Walt Williams (Analyst)
Student radio: WMUC Sports — Justin Gallanty and Connor Newcomb
Spread: Maryland -4.5 (via Odds Shark)
Kenpom prediction: Maryland wins 70-64
What to watch for Maryland: Jared Nickens
Against Penn State, Nickens attempted 10 field goals and came away with 13 points. It was the most he’s shot in any Big Ten game this season, and it was just the third time he hit double-digit points in conference play. Against Northwestern, we’ll have to see if Nickens will continue to take on a larger role in Maryland’s offense, or if his 10 shots against Penn State were just a blip on the radar.
Good work Jared pic.twitter.com/3Q1fDSLDiI
— Terps Watch (@TerpsWatch) February 8, 2018
What to watch for Northwestern: Strong perimeter defense
The Wildcats have held their opponents to under 30 percent on threes in their last three games. Michigan, Wisconsin and then Michigan again made just 26 percent of their deep shots against Northwestern. The Wildcats have been successful defending on the perimeter throughout all of Big Ten play — they have the second-best three-point defense in conference games.
Maryland is coming off a game where it lost while shooting over 50 percent from beyond the arc, so if Northwestern can actually hold the Terps under 30 percent, it could get ugly.