Wisconsin (19-12, 11-9 Big Ten) vs. Maryland (16-16, 7-13)
Game: Thursday, March 14 at the Target Center
Time: 1:30 P.M. CT
Watch: BTN
Listen: 1310 WIBA AM and 101.5 FM (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch on the call); stream online on iHeartRadio
Prediction: Wisconsin 71, Maryland 66
Follow Online: The Badgers' Den
Twitter: @Badger_Blitz
Betting line: Wisconsin -3.5 (according to ESPN BET)
PRE-GAME NOTES
The Wisconsin Badgers will kick off their Big Ten Tournament run against the Maryland Terrapins on Thursday afternoon.
Pressure is high on Greg Gard’s Badgers to make a strong postseason run after ending the regular season on such a poor note, losing eight of their final 10 games.
Their first test is against Maryland, the No. 12 seed in the tournament. They earned a spot in this game after handily beating Rutgers Wednesday night, 65-51. It was never quite close — the Terrapins were up 62-36 at one point.
The blowout victory came as somewhat of a surprise given how the Terrapins entered the tournament cold, having lost their previous three games as well as eight of their last 10.
Their season ended on a disappointing note, especially given the year that Jahmir Young had. His 20.5 points per game were 22nd-highest in the country and third in the Big Ten.
However, some of the team’s shortcomings can be attributed to Young’s consistent inefficiency. He’s only shot above 40% in two of his past 10 games.
Yet against Rutgers, a poor performance from Young didn’t seem to hinder the Terps. He finished with just 11 points Wednesday, his lowest total in a game since November.
No single player was truly responsible for Maryland’s victory.
They started the game with an 11-0 lead, and then went on another 10-0 run during the first half. They shot 44% in the first 20 minutes on their way to a 36-22 halftime lead.
The second half began even better than the first. Maryland scored 26 points on 56% shooting through the first 12 minutes.
Yet they proceeded to, in the final eight minutes, shoot 1-for-8 and turn the ball over eight times. What was once an absolute blowout ended in a mere sizable victory.
Senior Donta Scott finished with a team-high 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting. It was the second time in the last three games in which he scored 15 or more points.
Junior Julian Reese was second on the team with 12 points, which was a drop-off relative to how Reese has played this season. He’s averaging 13.9 points, which is 20th-highest in the Big Ten, on 54.8% shooting. Of the top 20 scorers in the conference in points per game, only four shoot above 54%.
The outcome could hinge upon whether Maryland plays more like the team from the first 30 minutes of Wednesday’s game, or like the team they’ve been for a month-and-a-half.
The Big Ten Tournament will provide an opportunity for Wisconsin to simply start fresh and put the end of the regular season behind them. It’s also a training ground for the NCAA Tournament, which will actually determine how this team is viewed.
The last we saw of the Badgers was their 78-70 loss to No. 3 Purdue this past Sunday. Despite the single-digit final score, this game rarely, if ever, seemed in reach for Wisconsin.
They did everything in their power to try and stop Zach Edey, constantly swarming and committing 11 fouls on him alone.
Similar to the first game between these teams, the Boilermakers silenced Steven Crowl — zero points, fouled out — and pressured A.J. Storr into an inefficient performance — 17 points on 6-for-15 shooting.
On the bright side for Wisconsin, Tyler Wahl showed up in his final regular season game, putting up a 17-10-5 statline while shooting 7-for-10 from the field.
But the leading scorer for the Badgers was John Blackwell, whose 18 points matched a season high. The freshman has slowly found different ways to score in important games. He shot 2-of-3 from long distance against Purdue, one game after scoring 17 and shooting 9-of-10 from the free-throw line against Rutgers.
Luckily for the Badgers’ defense, the Terrapins don’t have Edey.
They’ve done a much better job guarding guards than big men this season, holding Young to 20 points on 6-for-17 shooting in their first meeting.
An underrated asset for Wisconsin’s defense is Kamari McGee, who returned against Rutgers after missing over a month with a toe injury.
Against the Scarlet Knights, the Badgers used a lineup consisting of Chucky Hepburn, McGee and Blackwell that shut down Rutgers’ guards and proved to be the difference maker in the second half. This trio could make another crucial appearance against Young.
Ultimately, the Badgers are under pressure, which could be scary considering they haven’t dealt with pressure particularly well over the past month-and-a-half.
Maryland will probably get out to an early lead, given how they’ve played much more recently, while Wisconsin may take the first half to warm up. The Badgers can likely only win if they limit Young and create enough big shots in the second half.
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