Listen live to the Maryland vs Nebraska game of the Big Ten Tournament from Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tune in on 105.7 The Fan (no streaming).
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When: 8:55 PM ET, Friday, March 11, 2016
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
TV: 8:55 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network
By SportsDirect Inc.
Third-seeded Maryland will try to turn the page after a rough finish to the regular season when it takes on surprising No. 11 seed Nebraska in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals on Friday in Indianapolis. The 15th-ranked Terrapins lost four of their last six games in conference play, including a humbling 80-62 defeat at Indiana on Sunday, but have had four days to rest."We're just back to being underdogs. All last year, we were underdogs," Terrapins guard Melo Trimble told the Washington Post. "I think going into this postseason, we got the mindset. … everybody thinks they can beat us because we're going through these losses, but hopefully we can turn this thing around." Trimble, who was named to the Big Ten Second Team, scored 20 points in the 75-70 victory over Nebraska on Feb. 3. The Cornhuskers knocked off Rutgers in the first round and upset sixth-seeded Wisconsin 70-58 on Thursday with a second straight 20-point performance by Shavon Shields. Nebraska, which held Wisconsin to 30.2 percent shooting, lost five straight to end the regular season.
ABOUT NEBRASKA (16-17): Shields is averaging 21.6 points in five games since returning from a concussion that forced him to miss four straight contests. Shields averages 16.7 points overall and needs 20 to move into fifth place on the school's all-time list while Kansas transfer Andrew White contributes 16.3 for the Cornhuskers. Tai Webster is averaging 13.3 points over his last three contests and fellow guard Glynn Watson Jr., a freshman, stepped up with 16 in the victory over Wisconsin – almost doubling his average.
ABOUT MARYLAND (24-7): Swingman Jake Layman has been more productive over the last four games, averaging 14.5 points and draining 10-of-15 from 3-point range, and Robert Carter is 22-of-37 from the field in the same span. The Terrapins must improve on the defensive end in the postseason after allowing 80 or more points in three of their last four contests. Trimble tops the team in scoring (14.4 points) and assists (5.1) while Diamond Stone has provided 12.7 points and shoots 56.1 percent from the field.
TIP-INS
1. Maryland G Rasheed Sulaimon has struggled over the last four games, averaging six points and making just 8-of-26 shots.
2. Nebraska G Benny Parker is slated to make his 130th appearance and move into second all-time in program history behind Cookie Belcher (131).
3. The Terrapins have four players with at least 44 made 3-pointers - Trimble, Sulaimon, Layman and Jared Nickens.
PREDICTION: Maryland 78, Nebraska 66
