Maryland vs. Minnesota Prediction, Game Preview

Maryland vs. Minnesota prediction and game preview. The Terrapins try to snap the Golden Gophers’ five-game winning streak when the Big Ten foes meet Wednesday night.

Maryland vs. Minnesota Game Preview

When: Wednesday, Feb. 22 – 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Xfinity Center, College Park, MD
TV Broadcast: Big Ten Network

Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon decided to sit Melo Trimble for the final 4:32 of Sunday’s loss to Wisconsin with his team trailing by double digits and his star guard clearly fatigued. It marked the 13th straight game Trimble played at least 30 minutes, making Turgeon’s decision understandable with the Terps beginning a stretch of four games in 10 days.

Trimble shot 61.8 percent from the field—including 8 of 12 from 3-point range—while scoring a career-high 32 points against Northwestern and 27 against the Badgers over his last two games. He’s going to need more help against red-hot Minnesota, but the Terps’ depth has taken a hit. Big man Michal Cekovsky, who was the only other Terp in double figures Sunday with 10 points, suffered a fractured ankle and will be out the rest of the season.

That puts the onus on players like Damonte Dodd to help stop Reggie Lynch down low and keep Jordan Murphy off the glass. Lynch hit all four of his field goal attempts while finishing with 11 points and eight rebounds Sunday, and Murphy had 16 points and 15 boards in the 83-78 overtime win over Michigan.

Minnesota’s five-game winning streak has taken it off the bubble for the moment and put them in the NCAA Tournament field, and a victory over Maryland certainly would give its resume another boost as the regular season winds down.

Maryland Wins If …

… its depth pulls through. Trimble won’t be able to do it alone, especially since he’s a very streaky player and can go cold without prior notice. Justin Jackson finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds in the Terps’ 85-78 win over Minnesota in the first meeting Jan. 28, but he’s scored 17 points and shot 25 percent from the floor over his last three games. Anthony Cowan is hitting only 25.7 percent of his shots over his last five, and Kevin Huerter, who had five 3s against the Gophers, is 3 for 11 in his last two. The freshman trio must have short memories heading into this contest.

Minnesota Wins If …

… it stays composed. The Gophers were outscored by 14 points in the second half in the first matchup and suffered a tough home loss despite playing well overall. They won the rebounding battle by 10 and had five players in double figures, including Akeem Springs’ 23 points and Lynch’s double-double. But Minnesota fell apart, and it will need to calm the nerves of playing on the road in an important conference game.

Matchup To Watch

Trimble vs. Nate Mason

These guards are very similar in that they can be very inconsistent. Mason scored 30 points against Indiana last Wednesday, then went 3 of 13 from the floor the next time out against Michigan. He shot 2 for 10 in the first game against Maryland and is shooting only 37.3 percent from the field on the season despite averaging 15 points per game. Trimble and Mason both are going to take bad shots at times Wednesday, so it’s just a matter of who is hitting the most of them.

Betting Odds

Spread: Maryland -4.5
Over/Under: 143