Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Maryland Terrapins: A View From The Other Side

The Iowa Hawkeyes travel to Maryland to take on the Terrapins tomorrow.  So, I teamed up with Maryland’s Fansided site (Terrapin Station MD) and their editor, Chris Bengel, to bring you an in depth preview of the big game. 

Who would’ve thought that in late January the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Maryland Terrapins would be playing the Big Ten’s premier game.  This game is so good that it forced ESPN to bump if from ESPNU to ESPN.  Nobody expected the Hawkeyes to be where they are at right now, but Maryland is a different story.

They returned Melo Trimble from a year ago, who was voted to the All-Big Ten first team by the media, named the Big Ten Freshman of the year, and was a Sporting News second team All-American.  Everybody figured he’d go pro, but he fooled us all and stayed in school.  Throw in Jake Layman, an experienced swing man, Rasheed Sulaimon the Duke transfer, and Diamond Stone, who was number six on the the ESPN Top 100 this past year in terms of recruiting rankings.

They’ve struggled a tad (still 17-3) out of the gates, but this team is extremely tough at home.  Let’s see what Chris said during our little Q&A.

Dylan: The Terps don’t have any RPI Top 50 wins so far this year, but have 3 losses to teams inside the Top 50.  Does this worry you at all?

Chris: It doesn’t. Obviously, Maryland hasn’t had the start to Big Ten play that many thought they would’ve. A win against North Carolina in non-conference play may have made this bump in the road a little easier to swallow. However, this team will be just fine. The Terps possess arguably one of the best backcourts in the country with Melo Trimble and Rasheed Sulaimon.

Trimble has had a rocky start to conference play, but this is a guy that is a Wooden Award candidate for a reason. When there’s a big shot to be made, Trimble has no problem taking it as you saw against Wisconsin a few weeks back. Overall, there will be plenty more chances for marquee wins with teams like Iowa, Indiana, and Purdue still remaining on the schedule.

Dylan: Maryland has five guys that average double figures, but will the lack of a decent amount of bench scoring – with the exception of Diamond Stone – hurt the Terps at all?

Chris: I won’t say it hurts Maryland because you’ve seen how talented their top five scorers are. However, the Terps do need to get more consistent production from the bench. When Diamond Stone comes off the bench, you know that the production is going to be there. The team does need to see more from swingman Jared Nickens.

Nickens is an above-average shooter from beyond the arc (43.8 percent), but has only 24 points since Big Ten play began. This is the type of player that can be instant offense off the bench, but he hasn’t been shooting like it. Maryland is definitely missing Dion Wiley, who was lost for the season year before the season even started. The pressure certainly is on Nickens and Stone to be those producers off the bench for the Terps.

Dylan: If you had to pick one player as the X-Factor for the game on Thursday, who is it and why?

Chris: I’m going to go off the beaten path and go with Jake Layman. Somebody has to attempt to slow down Jarrod Uthoff and I think Layman will likely end up with that assignment at times. Layman is a great defender that has a considerable amount of length, which could make life a little more difficult for Uthoff.

Layman also could use a productive game from an offensive standpoint. He has only made four of his last 16 shots over the past two games. Look for Layman to have an impact in a game that Maryland desperately needs.

Dylan: What do you have as far as a prediction goes for us?

Chris: Maryland needs this game plain and simple. After some inconsistent play as of late, the Terps need to rebound if they want to knock off the third-ranked Hawkeyes. Maryland certainly excels when they play inside the Xfininty Center. After all, the Terps currently own a 24-game winning streak at home, dating back to last season. I think Maryland gets their biggest win of the season in a hard-fought battle. I’ll say Terps prevail, 73-68.

Chris does a great job of outlining what Maryland does well and what they don’t.  As mentioned, they have five guys that average double figures in terms of points per game.  Not a lot of teams can say that.  So, it’s clear to me that they have five guys that have the ability to go off on any given night.

It could be Stone, it could be Trimble, heck, it could even be Robert Carter.  They have a host of players that can hurt you, but what they don’t necessarily have, is a deep bench.  Another thing is; Iowa can certainly hurt the Terps on the glass as they [Maryland] rank 6th in the Big Ten in defensive rebounding and 12th in offensive rebounding.  Iowa is fourth and fifth in those categories, respectively.

Next: Football Recruting: Keith Duncan Commits To Iowa

Another big factor could be the turnover battle.  Iowa currently leads the Big Ten in both turnover margin and assist-turnover ratio.  Maryland currently ranks 11th and 9th in those respective categories.

One final thing I want to talk about that Maryland does well is; they don’t take too many stupid shots.  They’re well coached by head man, Mark Turgeon, and currently rank second in the Big Ten in field goal percentage, which usually means they’re taking good, open shots.

Keep an eye out for Chris’ piece on this same game that I will be featured in and remember the game tomorrow starts at 6:00 p.m. CT.

Stay locked into Dear Old Gold for constant coverage of the Iowa Hawkeyes.