Maryland Basketball set to embark on brutal Big Ten stretch
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The Maryland Terrapins returned home to the Xfinity Center on Sunday and scored a big win in conference play, defeating Nebraska 69-66. The win moved the Terps to 14-5 on the season and 4-4 in conference play, keeping them squarely in the Big Ten tournament picture. And although Sunday's win was critical toward keeping those tournament hopes alive, the Terrapins are about to embark on a brutal four game stretch that will test their ability to compete with the best the conference has to offer. Making things even more difficult is the fact that three of the next four matchups will occur on the road, something that has been a serious issue for the Terrapins under head coach Kevin Willard.
Here's a quick look at the upcoming schedule:
- Thursday, Jan. 23 - at No. 19 Illinois
- Sunday, Jan. 26 - at Indiana
- Wednesday, Jan. 29 - vs. No. 24 Wisconsin
- Thursday, Feb. 2 - at Ohio State
If Maryland can't fix its road woes in the coming weeks, the Terrapins could find themselves on the verge of being out of the tournament picture altogether. The Terps are currently 0-4 on the road this season, and coach Willard is just 6-21 on the road since taking over in Maryland back in 2022-23.
Following Sunday's win over Nebraska, Big Ten analyst (and former Michigan head basketball coach) John Beilein said that the Terps have the talent and the coaching to win in this league, but the road issues must be addressed.
"Maryland's just... they're up and they're down, Beilein said. "They're up and they're down, and they're trying to find themselves somewhere along the line. They have the talent, they have the coaching expertise to be really good in this league, but together they've got to figure it out. Because, and we talked about this last week, you've got to go .500 on this road if you're going to be at that top and be safely in that good seed in the NCAA [tournament]. They're not going .500 on the road. Illinois will probably go .500 on the road, Michigan might be even better than that. But Maryland's not doing that until they solve some of these issues."
With six of the next 12 games coming on the road and against some of the top teams in the conference, Maryland absolutely needs to figure out a way to win consistently away from home. Without it, the Terps could see their 2024-25 season come to an early end.
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Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.
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