Listen Live: Maryland At Nebraska [Live Audio] College Basketball
Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Nebraska
Maryland moved up to No. 3 in the Coaches Poll on the strength of a pair of wins last week, the first over previous No. 3 Iowa at home and then on Sunday in a tightly contested road battle against Ohio State. The Terrapins on Wednesday travel to Lincoln to face a Nebraska team that has lost two straight, including a 75-64 loss to No. 16 Purdue on Saturday.
All-American candidate Melo Trimble scored 20 points, Jake Layman contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds and the Terrapins made six free throws in the final 25 seconds to beat the Buckeyes. Winning in Columbus was special for coach Mark Turgeon and the Terrapins, who not only were blown out by the Buckeyes the past two seasons but also saw their NCAA Tournament run end there last season. "We think about it. We really wanted to win here. They beat us pretty good here the last two years and of course the NCAA Tournament was here. It's good to fly home and have a good taste in your mouth, one time." Maryland also struggled on the road last season in Lincoln, but was able to escape with a 64-61 win when Trimble scored 21 points and Layman chipped in 11.
ABOUT MARYLAND (19-3, 8-2 Big Ten): Freshman center Diamond Stone could have a field day against the undersized Cornhuskers, who were decimated in their last game when Purdue center A.J. Hammons compiled 32 points (14-of-17 from the field), 11 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. Layman, a 6-9 senior who recorded his third double-double of the season versus Ohio State, is another big body Turgeon will utilize to take advantage of the size disparity -- Nebraska does not have anyone in its top-eight rotation who stands taller than 6-8. Trimble scored 47 and Layman 25 points as the Terrapins beat the Cornhuskers -- by a combined total of seven points -- both times they played last season.
ABOUT NEBRASKA (12-10, 4-5): In his first season since transferring from Kansas, Andrew White has had an immediate impact as he is the fifth-leading scorer in the conference at 17.0 points per game and connects on 42.5 percent from 3-point range. Shavon Shields is eighth in the conference and second on the team at 15.8 points per game, but along with White has been plagued with foul trouble trying to guard bigger players. Coach Tim Miles had hoped 6-7 forward Ed Morrow Jr. would help on the defensive end, but the freshman was pulled after seven minutes against Purdue, prompting Miles to say, "Ed had gone in and made three errors immediately on game-plan stuff, which, I don't know where his head was. You've got to get him out. You can't just go out there and make error, error, error on game-plan things."
TIP-INS
1. The Terrapins are 16-1 over the past two seasons when Layman scores 15 or more points.
2. In his past three games, White has fouled out against Michigan State, committed three fouls against Michigan and four against Purdue.
3. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, Maryland is a national-best 18-2 in games decided by six points or less.
PREDICTION: Maryland 82, Nebraska 77
