The Terps look for their third straight win.
Maryland men’s basketball hits the road Thursday to take on Northwestern, as the Terps search for their third straight win.
Maryland scraped past Minnesota, 77-71, Monday night to put together its first consecutive Big Ten wins of the season. Maryland stands at 3-3 in conference play, with all three wins coming at Xfinity Center.
Thursday’s game will start at 9 p.m. ET and air on Big Ten Network.
Northwestern Wildcats (10-6, 1-4 Big Ten)
2023-24 record: 22-12, 12-8 Big Ten
Head coach Chris Collins is in his 12th season leading the Wildcats. He was named Big Ten Coach of the Year two seasons ago after guiding Northwestern to a 22-12 record — seven more wins than the previous season. The Wildcats have appeared in three NCAA Tournaments under Collins, including 2023 and 2024.
Northwestern has taken a step back so far this season. It lost to Dayton and Butler early in the season and then-No. 20 Purdue, Penn State, Iowa and then-No. 16 Michigan State in Big Ten play. The Wildcats proved they can still hang with the nation’s best, though, with a win over No. 19 Illinois.
Players to watch
Brooks Barnhizer, senior guard, 6-foot-6, No. 13 — Barnhizer is the focal point of Northwestern’s offense and defense. He is second on the team in points per game (18) and first in rebounds (9.3), assists (4.3), steals (2.4) and blocks (1.3) per game. He has spent the past three seasons with the Wildcats and was named to the All-Big Ten third team last year.
He missed the first four games this season, but has been healthy since.
Nick Martinelli, junior forward, 6-foot-7, No. 2 — While Barnhizer does just about everything for the Wildcats, Martinelli is the team’s leading scorer and extremely efficient. He averages 19.9 points per game — which ranks second in the conference — while shooting 50.4% from the field and 41.5% from three. He also averages 5.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.
Martinelli started in just 11 games last season, averaging 8.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.
Jalen Leach, graduate guard, 6-foot-4, No. 1 — Leach transferred to Northwestern after spending the last four seasons at Fairfield, where he was named to the All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference first team. He has started in all 16 games for the Wildcats this season, averaging 13.7 points, 2.4 assists and two rebounds per game.
Strength
Turnover margin. The Wildcats are 21st in the country in turnover margin with a ratio of 4.5. They also rank last in the Big Ten with 9.8 turnovers per game, third with 8.5 steals per game and fifth with a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Weakness
Offense. While the Wildcats seldom forfeit possessions, they are not very good at capitalizing on that fact. They rank 16th in the conference in points per game (73.7), 17th in field goal percentage (44.2%) and 14th in assists per game (14.8). And only three Wildcats average double-digit points, while every other player averages less than seven per game.
Three things to watch
1. A frontcourt size advantage for Maryland. Part of what makes the Terps’ offense so great is the mismatches a frontcourt of Derik Queen (6-foot-10) and Julian Reese (6-foot-9) can cause. With Northwestern center Matthew Nicholson (7-foot) likely assigned to Reese, Queen should have a massive size advantage over Martinelli. Coming off a career-high 27 points, Queen could be in for another impressive day.
2. How will Maryland match up with Northwestern’s guards? While the Wildcats certainly have their flaws, they boast a skilled and tall backcourt. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, Barnhizer has a considerable height and size advantage over all three of Maryland’s guards. Who will guard Barnhizer and how Maryland will defend him will be worth watching.
3. First road win. Maryland is 0-3 on the road this season, falling to then-No. 8 Purdue, Washington and then-No. 9 Oregon. But with Northwestern in the midst of a three-game losing streak, the Terps should be favored and primed to win their first away game of the year.