3 Maryland Players Michigan State Must Contain
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Michigan State basketball is back in East Lansing after its lengthy trip on the West Coast.
The 10th-ranked Spartans took down both Washington and Oregon by double-digits. That places MSU at 17-2 overall and 7-1 during Big Ten play. Michigan State's only conference loss was by two points at current No. 7 Nebraska; the Cornhuskers are still a perfect 19-0 with a Big Ten-leading 8-0 conference record.
Next up for MSU is a home game against Maryland. The Terrapins are having a rough go so far during their first year with head coach Buzz Williams, who was previously at Texas A&M. UMD will enter Saturday's game (noon ET, CBS) with an 8-11 overall record and a mere 1-7 mark during conference play. Maryland hasn't beaten a team ranked inside KenPom's top 100 teams yet.
While Michigan State is a heavy favorite --- KenPom gives the Spartans a 96% chance to win --- the game still gets played for a reason. The Terrapins have a few players who can cause trouble on any given day. Here are three of them:
G David Coit
Leading the charge for Maryland is graduate point guard David Coit. He's averaging 15.4 points per game, but he just recently had a 43-point explosion during the Terrapins' game against Penn State this past Sunday. Coit is a well-traveled player, beginning his career at Atlantic Cape CC, becoming an all-MAC player at Northern Illinois, spending last season at Kansas, and then transferring to UMD this past offseason.
Coit is one of the best shooters that Michigan State will have game planned for thus far. He's made about 39% of his shots from beyond the arc so far, and that's with some serious volume: 7.1 three-point shots per game. As of Thursday, his 53 made threes rank third in the Big Ten.
G Darius Adams
One familiar face, at least to those who follow Michigan State recruiting, is former five-star prospect Darius Adams. MSU and Tom Izzo recruited him, with Adams officially visiting in September 2024, but he ended up choosing UConn at first before flipping to Maryland.
Adams has been an instant contributor for the Terrapins so far. He's averaging 12.3 points per game, but appears to be working out his shot, as he's made just 34% of his shots from the field and only about 25% of his attempts from three.
F Solomon Washington
One player Williams brought with him from Texas A&M is forward Solomon Washington. In the absence of forward Pharrel Payne, who averaged 17.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, but has missed the last eight games due to an injury, Washington has been Maryland's most productive big man.
The 6-foot-7, 220-pound senior has been nearly averaging a double-double through 11 games this season (Washington didn't play in UMD's first eight games), averaging 9.8 points and 9.5 rebounds. He and Michigan State four-man Jaxon Kohler should be an interesting individual battle.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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