Maryland Terrapins (13-10, 7-9) at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (12-8, 8-8)
Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021 | 3 p.m.
The RAC | Piscataway, N.J.
ON THE AIR
TV: BTN (Kevin Kugler, play-by-play; Brian Butch, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/ Sirius 372 / XM 372; Jerry Recco and Joe Boylan), WRSU 88.7 FM (Troy DeSavino, Raj Shah)
OPENING TIP
Rutgers men's basketball returns home to The RAC after winning five of the past seven games to open up a two-game homestand. The Scarlet Knights will welcome in Maryland for a 3 p.m. contest on Sunday on BTN.
Rutgers enters the game following a competitive loss at No. 3 Michigan on Thursday night. With four scorers in double-figures, RU stayed competitive to the wire holding the Wolverines, who entered the contest leading the Big Ten Conference in field goal percentage, to just a 46.2% mark from the floor and kept UM leading scorer Isaiah Livers to just seven points.
The Scarlet Knights took great care of the ball in that contest with just three turnovers, the fewest for RU ever in a Big Ten game and fewest overall since 2014 versus Clemson.
The Scarlet Knights have been stout on the defensive end, leading the Big Ten in steals (8.0 steals per game) and blocks (5.3 blocks per game). Against Michigan,
Myles Johnson had four blocks, his sixth game this season with at least four blocks, while Cliff Omoruyi had a career-high three blocks.
In that contest,
Caleb McConnell had seven rebounds for the third straight game. Over his past four games, McConnell is averaging 10.3 points and 6.8 rebounds. McConnell alongside
Paul Mulcahy continue to make what
Steve Pikiell terms as 'winning plays', things valuable to the team's success that don't show up in the box score.
The Scarlet Knights' success over the past two seasons has come with the competition in the Big Ten at an all-time peak. For the second straight season, RU has won eight conference games after doing that only once previously in the prior 17 meetings. The Scarlet Knights are in the top half of the Big Ten standings in a league that rates as easily the top conference in the nation.
Rutgers stands at 30 in the NET rankings. The Scarlet Knights have four Quad 1 wins on the year, with victories over Illinois (4), Purdue (23), at Maryland (39) and at Indiana (48). Four Big Ten teams are in the top-8 of the NET, representing five of RU's eight losses. The Scarlet Knights' strength of schedule is ranked third overall in the nation per Ken Pomeroy.
THE OPPONENT
The Maryland Terrapins are currently on a three-game winning streak after defeating Nebraska twice on Tuesday and Wednesday night. Maryland is 7-9 in conference play and is led by Eric Ayala averaging 14.6 points per game alongside Aaron Wiggins (13.5) and Donta Scott (11.8). The Terrapins rank 26th nationally in total 3-point FGM (189) however they are 16th nationally in personal fouls per game (14.8) and 28th in turnovers per game (11.1).
THE SERIES
Series Record: Maryland leads 11-5
Last Meeting: Rutgers 74, Maryland 60 (December 14, 2020)
Sunday marks the 17th meeting dating back to 1940, with the Terps leading 11-5. Rutgers has won the past two contest. RU defeated No. 9 Maryland in last seasons, home finale
Jacob Young led the home team in that game with 17 points and three steals, while Baltimore native
Montez Mathis added 15 points to spark a court storm. Earlier this season, RU claimed a 74-60 victory for the program's first ever road win at Maryland. In that contest, RU was led by
Ron Harper Jr. with 27 points and
Myles Johnson with a double-double (10 points, 16 rebounds).
WITH A WIN
A victory for Rutgers over Maryland would represent:
- The second sweep of a Big Ten series this season (previously swept home-and-home with Northwestern).
- A third straight win in the all-time series against Maryland.
