Opportunity knocks for Penn State basketball at Maryland: Preview, prediction
Penn State basketball has proven this season to be capable of competing with just about any opponent on any given night.
What the Nittany Lions have not demonstrated is an ability to string together wins. Even including nonconference play, Penn State has not won more than two games in a row this year. Within the Big Ten, as longtime fans of the program know, stretches of sustained success are few and far between.
But that is exactly the opportunity that presents itself as Penn State — having won two straight — travels to take on Maryland Monday night for a 7:00 tip.
“We’ve gotten our last two home games, now we got a tough road game against Maryland,” head coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “Then we get to come home and play two more. We need to play with that same resiliency, that same fight.”
Sitting at 6-9 in conference play on the heels of wins over Michigan State and Minnesota, Penn State now faces three games in a row against opposition below it in the standings.
Maryland, having parted ways with head coach Mark Turgeon midseason, is 4-11 in the Big Ten. After the Terps, the Nittany Lions get 5-11 Northwestern and 1-14 Nebraska at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Winning on the road is a puzzle Penn State hasn’t yet solved under Shrewsberry. The Nittany Lions are 1-7 in true road games this season — the singular win coming in a tight game at Northwestern.
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“You don’t have to play perfect, but you have to be resilient when things don’t go your way and kind of stay together,” Shrewsberry said earlier this month, when asked about the keys to winning away from home. “You can’t beat yourself, I know that much.”
Scouting the Terrapins
Led by interim head coach Danny Manning, Maryland sits at 12-14 and 4-11 in conference play.
The Terps are 89th in KenPom’s ratings with the No. 81 offense and No. 105 defense.
Interestingly, they’ve been poor at home this season, particularly in conference play. Only one of their Big Ten wins has come at the Xfinity Center, an 81-65 triumph over Illinois.
Maryland enters this game coming off a 90-74 trouncing of the Cornhuskers in Nebraska.
The Terps rely heavily on their veteran guard tandem of Eric Ayala and Fatts Russell, with both averaging around 14 points per game.
They are not a particularly efficient team, shooting 43 percent from the field and 32 percent from three. They get to the free-throw line 20 times per game, which is 65th in the country.
Penn State vs Maryland Prediction
Penn State 67, Maryland 61
Does it matter that Penn State struggles on the road if its opponent can’t win at home? We’re about to find out. Generally, this is a Maryland program in the midst of a nightmare season. If the Nittany Lions and their 39th-ranked defense according to KenPom can turn this into a slog — as they usually do — I expect Penn State to emerge with a valuable road win.
