Maryland (17-8) vs.
Purdue (23-3)
When: Thursday, Feb. 16 | 6:30 p.m. ET
Where: Xfinity Center (College Park, Md.)
Television: BTN (Streaming on FoxSports) -
Watch Live
Broadcasters: Corey Provus (play-by-play), Stephen Bardo (color), Andy Katz (sideline)
Radio: Maryland Sports Radio Network |
Listen Online
Line: Terps +1.5
Over/Under: 132.5
Series history: Purdue leads the all-time series 8-5, with the Boilermakers winning the most recent meeting 58-55 on Jan. 22, 2023 in West Lafayette.
Projected Starting Lineups
Purdue
Branden Smith (6-foot, Fr., G) - Averaging 9.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and a team-high 4.4 assists per game.
Fletcher Loyer (6-foot-4, Fr., G) - Averaging 12.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
Ethan Morton (6-foot-7, Junior, G/F) - Averaging 4.0 points and 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
Caleb Furst (6-foot-10, Soph., F) - Averaging 6.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Zach Edey (7-foot-2, Senior, C) - National player of the year candidate averaging a team-high 22.2 points, a team-high 13.0 rebounds and a team-high 2.3 blocks per game.
Maryland
Jahmir Young (6-foot-1, Senior, PG) - Averaging a team-high 16.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, a team-high 3.2 assists and a team-high 1.3 steals per game.
Don Carey (6-foot-5, Senior, SG) - Averaging 6.7 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.
Hakim Hart (6-foot-8, Senior, G/F) - Averaging 11.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists per game.
Donta Scott (6-foot-8, Senior, F) - Averaging 12.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
Julian Reese (6-foot-9, Soph., F) - Averaging 10.6 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game.
The Terps come into Thursday night's game a perfect 7-0 at home in league play after defeating Penn State 74-68 in College Park last Saturday. They are looking to avenge an earlier road loss to a Big Ten opponent for the third time this season, but will have to defeat the highest-ranked opponent they have faced all season in order to do so. A sellout crowd is expected and should play a factor in helping the home team.
"It's great, we have 7,000 students at every game, they're into it, they're cheering, they have different cheers for different timeouts and we have five or six new guys that haven't played here and I think the fact that the students and the crowd have been so great and so into the game it has really given us a great boost at home," head coach Kevin Willard told BTN's Dave Revsine.
Maryland lost the first matchup between these two teams in West Lafayette by just three points, as the Terps stormed back from a 14-point halftime deficit to give themselves a chance to win it in the closing minutes. The Terps played some of their best perimeter defense of the season in the first matchup, holding the Boilermakers to just 2 of 13 shooting from beyond the arc.
The one player the Terps were unable to stop in the first meeting was player of the year candidate Zach Edey, who went for a 24-point, 16-rebound double-double. He was the only Purdue player to finish in double-figure scoring. Trying to slow him down and forcing him to turn the ball over (he had five turnovers in the first meeting) will be one of the keys for the Terps on Thursday night.
Another key for the Terps will be finding a way to score themselves, after shooting just 37.3% from the field in the first meeting. They will likely need to improve on those numbers in the second meeting as Purdue is likely to be extra hungry for a win having lost two out of their last three, including a tough loss at Northwestern over the weekend.
"I think the biggest thing for us is, we've got to figure out a way to score against them," said Willard. "I don't think they get enough credit for how good they are defensively. They protect Zach [Edey] tremendously. The two young freshman guards, they work on the defensive end. I don't think they get enough credit for how hard they work and how much they've picked up a college scheme so quickly. They're physical, they're big and we've also got to find a way to stop Gillis, because I think he's been really key to the way they've been playing lately. Obviously you have to deal with Zach, and I think everyone in the country is still trying to deal with it. Chris [Collins] and Northwestern played such a great game [Sunday], it was a fun game to watch and was great to see that atmosphere. We're going to need that same atmosphere and we're going to have to play just as tough as Chris and Northwestern did."
The Terps will be looking for a big performance from Jahmir Young in the second meeting with the Boilermakers after he scored just 10 points on 4 of 18 shooting from the field in the first matchup. He's averaging 19.5 points and shooting 46.9% from the field in the Terps' four home games since losing to Purdue.
"I think Jahmir is playing as good as any guard in this conference, if not the country," said Willard. "He's given us not only great points and assists on the court, but he's been a great presence in timeouts and practice. He's really developed into a really good leader. He's got a great toughness about him. He loves to compete. And I think as he's kind of gotten used to this league and the physicality and the size of the league, as he's gotten more comfortable, so has our offense."
A win over No. 3 Purdue at home would not only be perhaps the signature win of Willard's early tenure at Maryland, but also help the Terps move up in the Big Ten standings as well as improve their seeding when the NCAA tournament field is announced on Selection Sunday.
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