Maryland men’s basketball was ranked No. 16 in Monday’s Associated Press top 25 poll, its highest placement of the season and the first time it has been ranked for four consecutive weeks since early in the 2022-23 campaign.
The Terps are one of the hottest teams in college basketball, winning four straight games and eight of their last nine. They last defeated USC, 88-71, on Feb. 20 at Xfinity Center.
Much of that success has come off the backs of Maryland’s explosive starting lineup. The five-man unit, commonly referred to as the “Crab Five” among fans, leads the country in scoring average with 69.2 points a game.
[The Diamondback Sports Digest: A five-star and the ‘Crab Five’]
Maryland will host No. 8 Michigan State on Wednesday in the most anticipated home game of the season — and one of the highest-stakes contests of Kevin Willard’s tenure.
The coach’s last time beating a top-15 team at Xfinity Center was No. 3 Purdue on Feb. 16, 2023, Willard’s inaugural season at Maryland.
The Spartans (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) sit atop the conference standings. The Terps, who are tied with Wisconsin for third place, trail Michigan State by two games with four contests left. Maryland has dropped its past six games against the Spartans dating back to 2022.
