Men's Basketball Breakdown: Iowa vs. Maryland
Breaking down Thursday's game between Iowa and Maryland.
Game facts
Time and place — 7:30 p.m. (CST), Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland.
TV — BTN (Kevin Kugler, play-by-play; Dan Bonner, analyst; Olivia Dekker, sideline)
Radio — Hawkeye Radio Network
Records — Iowa 15-5 (6-3 Big Ten), Maryland 16-4 (6-3)
Rankings — Maryland is No. 15 in the Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls. Iowa is No. 18 both polls.
Series — Maryland leads, 6-4.
Earlier this season — Iowa won, 67-49, on Jan. 10 in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes had a 19-2 run in the first half to take control of the game.
The lineups
Iowa — Joe Wieskamp (F, 6-6, Soph., 14.9 ppg.), Luka Garza (C, 6-11, Jr., 23.1 ppg.), Joe Toussaint (G, 6-0, Fr., 7.2 ppg.), CJ Fredrick (G, 6-3, Fr., 11.2 ppg.), Connor McCaffery (G, 6-5, Soph., 6.4 ppg.)
Maryland — Donta Scott (F, 6-7, Fr., 5.4 ppg.), Jalen Smith (F, 6-10, Soph., 15.2 ppg.), Anthony Cowan (G, 6-0, Sr., 15.5 ppg.), Darryl Morsell (G, 6-5, Jr., 7.9 ppg.), Aaron Wiggins (G, 6-6, Soph., 10.7 ppg.)
The analytics
NET — Maryland 14, Iowa 20
KenPom — Maryland 10 (Adjusted offense, 27; adjusted defense, 11), Iowa 14 (Adjusted offense 3; adjusted defense, 78)
Sagarin — Maryland 10, Iowa 14
The lines
Spread — Maryland -5 1/2
Over/under — 145 1/2
What to watch
The Hawkeyes are on a five-game winning streak, and it started with the rout of the Terrapins at home.
It was the worst loss of the season for Maryland, which hasn't lost at home this season.
"Essentially, they've been unbeatable at home," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. "They've got two really good road wins since we played them (at Northwestern and Indiana). Their other losses were close games. They're a talented group."
It was Maryland's lowest point total of the season. The Hawkeyes held the Terrapins to 32.7 percent shooting.
"I thought we defended that well that night," McCaffery said. "We got some consecutive stops. You've got to defend them. If you try to outscore them, go toe-to-toe with them that way, they're pretty impressive. You have to defend. You have to rebound. You have to contest."
The Hawkeyes held Cowan to 2-of-10 shooting and nine points.
"You've got to keep people in front of him," McCaffery said. "He's pretty tough one-on-one. Be aware of where he is. Be aware of where he is in transition."
This is a big weekend for the Hawkeyes. They're tied with Maryland and Rutgers are three losses in conference play, and Big Ten co-leader Illinois comes to Iowa City on Sunday. A win in this one, to reach the halfway point of the Big Ten season, would be huge.
