Maryland Men's Basketball At. No. 10 Michigan State
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The Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team continues its road stint, heading up north for a matchup with the No. 10 Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center in front a national audience on CBS.
The Terps (8-11, 1-7 Big Ten) are in the midst of a tough stretch, playing ranked opponents in three straight games, with this being the second one of the bunch. The Terps will need to find a way to be more consistent and productive on offense for a full 40 minutes if they plan to pull off an upset against the Spartans (17-2, 7-1 Big Ten), one of the top defensive teams in the country.
Let's take a look....
Game Details:
When: Saturday, January 24th
Where: Breslin Center, East Lansing, Michigan
Tipoff: 12:00 p.m.
How to watch: CBS
Michigan State Key Stats
Record: 17-2 (7-1 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Tom Izzo
Leading Scorer: Jaxon Kohler- 13.3 points
Leading Rebounder: Jaxon Kohler - 9.6 rebounds
Leader in Assists: Jeremy Fears Jr.- 8.4 assists
Team Scoring Defense: 63.5 points allowed per game (8th nationally)
Team Assists: 18.6 assists per game (14th nationally)
Team Rebounds: 41.5 rebounds per game (16th nationally)
Pythagorean Wins: 18 (T12th nationally)
Michigan State is sporting an 18.5 point spread ahead of tomorrow's matchup.
Players To Watch
Michigan State Forward Jaxon Kohler
Kohler is one of the Spartans' most consistent players on a nightly basis. He is currently shooting a 50/40/80 split while nearly averaging a double-double. He has a fantastic physical "back-you-down" style that makes him highly effective with his back to the basket or taking it down to the rim. He also has excellent vision, allowing him to find teammates, and he can stretch the floor from outside. Kohler has been held under 10 points in the past two contests, so expect him to attack the smaller Maryland front court early.
Maryland Forward Solomon Washington
Washington secured a double-double last time out against Illinois (13 points & 10 rebounds). Head coach Buzz Williams will likely have the forward taking on the assignment of slowing down Kohler with his defensive tenacity and keeping him off the boards.
History vs. Michigan State
Michigan State holds the lead in the all-time head-to-head matchups against Maryland (17-8). The Terps are currently on a seven-game skid against the Spartans, having not beaten them since the 2020 season, when they defeated them in the regular-season matchup and the Big Ten Tournament that year.
Final Take
The Terps couldn't carry over their offensive production from Sunday's win against Penn State into the matchup at Illinois earlier this week. Now, they are playing a top defensive unit in the country, a team that prides itself on that end of the floor.
Maryland has to be able to hit their shots from around the floor and become more efficient at the free-throw line when they create those opportunities. Michigan State relies on its top four guys as scorers, so Maryland has to slow them down and force others to step up.
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Jaden's sports journalism career began at the College of Southern Maryland from 2022-2023, where he was brought in to cover baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at CSM. In late 2023, he began interning at the University of Maryland Athletics Department as a contributing writer to help develop feature stories and game recaps. He also creates his own sports media content on professional Washington teams with LegacyMaker Sports Network.