Opponent: Purdue Boilermakers (10-7, 3-3 Big Ten)
Location: Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland
Tipoff: 2 p.m. EST, Saturday, Jan. 18
Last matchup: February 12, 2019 — Maryland 70-56
Last game: Maryland lost to Wisconsin 56-54, Purdue defeated No. 15 Michigan State 71-42
Line: Maryland -5.5, per OddsShark
TV: ESPN2 — Jason Benetti (play-by-play), Dan Dakich (analyst)
Streaming: WatchESPN
Radio: Maryland Sports Radio Network (105.7 FM Baltimore, 980 AM D.C., TuneIn Radio App) — Johnny Holliday (play-by-play), Chris Knoche (analyst), Walt Williams (analyst)
What to watch for Maryland: Home dominance
It is well-documented that the Terps and the rest of the Big Ten have been terrible on the road this season, as shown by Maryland’s 0-4 road record thus far. Luckily for the Terps, they return home and play a depleted Purdue team that is still largely searching for answers after being a shot away from reaching the Final Four last season. The last time the Boilermakers were in Xfinity, Purdue lost by 14 as the No. 12 team in the nation to a No. 24 Maryland team that broke a five-game losing streak against them.
What to watch for Purdue: Balanced scoring
The Boilermakers have struggled to generate offense this season, averaging 68.6 points per game so far. However, Purdue’s scoring attack includes five double-digit scorers, including center Matt Haarms, who averages 10.4 points per game. Where the Boilermakers struggle is their overall field goal percentage (41.7%) and free throw percentage (65.4%). Purdue is 13th and 12th in the conference in those respective categories respectively, playing a Maryland team last in the conference in shooting (41.3%). If Purdue wants to pull off an upset, they need a balanced scoring attack and a much better shooting day from the field than what the statistics show.
