Maryland basketball rises in Big Ten standings, adds to NCAA profile with road win over Indiana
Sunday was Maryland's third Quadrant One win of the season.
Rodney Rice hit arguably the biggest shot of the Maryland men's basketball season Sunday, drilling the go-ahead three with 7.5 seconds left in the Terps' 79-78 road win over Indiana.
Maryland improved to 16-5 overall and 6-4 in Big Ten, entering a tie for fifth place in the conference with Illinois. The Terps did beat the Fighting Illini in their lone meeting of the season last Thursday, owning the tiebreaker over Illinois if it were to come down to it. Maryland is 0.5 games back of Wisconsin — one game in the loss column — ahead of the matchup between the teams in College Park on Wednesday.
Michigan State currently sits in first in the Big Ten at 8-0 in league play. Purdue is in second with an 8-2 Big Ten record and Michigan is in third with a 6-2 conference mark. With a win over the Badgers, Maryland would gain ground in the race for a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
Sunday's win kept Maryland at No. 19 in the NET. The Terps are also No. 21 at KenPom, No. 15 at BartTorvik and No. 20 in the ESPN Basketball Power Index.
Maryland's week not only helped reverse some of its previous road woes the last few years, but it picked up wins that add substance to its NCAA Tournament resume. Maryland is now 3-4 in Quadrant One opportunities after the road wins over Illinois and Indiana. The win over the Fighting Illini, who are 10th in the NET, will stay steady as a Quad 1A win. Indiana is 68th in the NET, and the Hoosiers have to remain in the top 75 for the Terps' win to stay in Quadrant One.
The Terps are also 3-1 in Quadrant Two for a combined 6-5 record in the first two quadrants. Maryland already has more conference road wins than it did two years ago when it made the NCAA Tournament as a No. 8 seed. Maryland is 2-0 in Quadrant Three and 8-0 in Quadrant Four.
Winners of five of their last six games, Maryland has two more Quadrant One opportunities in a row upcoming. The XFINITY Center should be rocking Wednesday night as Maryland welcomes Wisconsin to town for its annual Gold Rush game. It's Maryland's only game this week.
