Opponent: Northwestern Wildcats (6-11, 1-6 Big Ten)
Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, Illinois
Tipoff: 7 p.m. EST, Tuesday, Jan. 21
Last matchup: Jan. 29, 2019 — Maryland 70-52
Last game: Maryland defeated Purdue 57-50, Northwestern lost to Illinois 75-71
Line: Maryland -7.5 per OddsShark
Kenpom prediction: Maryland 69-62
TV: FS1 — Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play), Stephen Bardo (analyst)
Streaming: FoxSportsGo
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: Can the Terps finally win a true road game?
The No. 17 Maryland Terrapins have yet to win a true road game this season. The Terps loss at Wisconsin last week dropped their road record to 0-4, and 0-3 in Big Ten play. Northwestern has the worst record in the Big Ten so this will likely be the most winnable road game on the schedule for Maryland. If this is a Maryland team that wants to prove that they’re a legitimate threat come March, the Terps have to take care of business against the worst team in their conference Tuesday night.
What to watch for Northwestern: The play of Pat Spencer
The senior guard and Maryland native isn’t a household name in college basketball but his play has steadily improved as the season has gone on. Despite having not played collegiate basketball prior to this season (he spent four years at Loyola MD where he was a four-time All-American in Lacrosse), Spencer leads the team in assists and steals per game and has had at least 14 points in four of his last five games. If Spencer plays well on Tuesday, Northwestern will have a chance to pull off the upset.
