Maryland Basketball: Terps Down Wisconsin

After losing six of their last eight games, Mark Turgeon and his team have hopefully begun an upward swing as the season starts winding down.

Wisconsin, who were tenth place in the Big Ten, visited College Park on Super Bowl Sunday as both teams looked to right their season paths.

Neither team seemed to deserve a win, as just minutes in Maryland was shooting 14 percent and he Badgers just over 30 percent from the field.

The Terrapins would seemingly take control of the game as the first half winded down, and they went on a 17-4 run. This was capped off with a Cowan steal to end the half and send Maryland to the locker room with a 10 point lead.

In the second half, Turgeon’s team fell back to the same old slump as they usually do. The Badgers fought their way back to make this a one point game with under eight minutes left, but this time, Maryland pulled it out.

Sold decision making and good free throw shooting helped knock the Badgers out of contention, and put a 68-63 win on their schedule.

Beating Wisconsin is something this Maryland team is expected to do, but the recent downward trend with injuries and a gauntlet of tough games has had fans questioning the team’s ability.

The duo of Anthony Cowan and Kevin Huerter were enough for Maryland, as they combined for 42 of Maryland’s 68 points. Sean Obi was probably the most surprising player, as he added three points and six rebounds in 13 minutes on the floor.

Maryland was still without Michal Cekovsky who is day-to-day with a bruised heel, which he suffered after landing awkwardly in practice. Being able to win a conference game while shorthanded will surely reignite this team moving forward.

Turgeon and his team have a rather easy schedule to finish the year, as the only team with a wining record in Big Ten play is 24th ranked Michigan at home for senior day.

Their next test will be a road matchup at Penn State (16-9, 6-6) Wednesday night on the Big Ten Network at 6:30.