Rutgers and Maryland are two of the four teams that started the weekend tied for next-to-last place in the Big Ten.
And that’s a spot both would like to avoid at the end of the season. The bottom four teams in conference standings at the end of the regular season will play in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament. Two-win Penn State already has one of those spots locked up.
The Scarlet Knights and the Terrapins take identical records (11-17, 4-13) into their meeting on Sunday afternoon in College Park, Md. One of the teams can take a big step toward avoiding the opening round in Chicago.
For either team to capture what would be its first Big Ten tournament title, it would be a daunting task. But it would be that much tougher to open in the first round and face the prospect of playing six games in as many days.
“We’ve got a lot to play for,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said Tuesday after a 79-72 loss at home to Washington.
Pikiell believed his team was on the right track two weeks ago when it beat Maryland, 68-57, and followed up with a win at Penn State, 85-72.
But in losses at Minnesota and to Washington, Rutgers surrendered 54.7% shooting overall and 48.9% from deep.
“A couple of weeks ago, we were moving in an unbelievable direction, the way we were defending, the way we were connecting,” Pikiell said. “We gotta get back to that.”
With their starters hitting just 26.7% of their shots against Washington, the Scarlet Knights got a lift from their bench as Lino Mark and Darren Buchanan Jr. delivered 18 and 17 points respectively.
It was a career high for Mark, a freshman, who has made 17 of his 22 shots (77.3%) over the past three games.
Maryland has won three of its past six behind Andre Mills. In February, the freshman averaged 19.1 points per game on 50% shooting overall and 43.8% from long range.
In seven games in January, Mills’ averaged 7.3 points on 36.7% shooting from the field and 33.3% from deep.
“We had a good month,” Maryland coach Buzz Williams said after a 74-61 loss on Wednesday at No. 12 Nebraska. “I know the results have to improve.”
In the first meeting between Maryland and Rutgers on Feb. 15, Tariq Francis led the Scarlet Knights in scoring with 21 points in the 68-57 win. Mills had nine points.
