After earning its highest quality win of the season over Iowa on Feb. 11, Maryland men’s basketball has entered a two-game skid. In its last contest against Northwestern, Andre Mills shined tremendously with 39 points, but his counterparts added on just 35 more in the defeat.
With five games remaining in the season, the Terps are still aiming to salvage some last-minute victories. Washington presents an opportunity for that.
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The Huskies have a better record than both of the programs Maryland recently lost to, but they’re still just .500 on the year. In their last match, they picked up a home victory over Minnesota, but they lost by three to Penn State in the previous game.
Saturday’s game will begin at 3 p.m. and stream on Peacock.
Washington Huskies (13-13, 5-10 Big Ten)
Head coach Danny Sprinkle is in his second year at the helm of the Huskies. His first year was underwhelming, as the team finished 13-18. Most of Sprinkle’s commendable work as a head coach came during his time with Utah State — he led the Aggies to a Mountain West regular-season title and NCAA Tournament appearance. All-Big Ten honorable mention forward Great Osobor made the move to Seattle alongside Sprinkle, but the senior ran out of eligibility.
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Before his time with the Aggies, Sprinkle spent four years as head coach of Montana State, where he guided the program to two NCAA Tournament berths.
Players to watch
Hannes Steinbach, freshman forward, 6-foot-11, No. 6 — The loss of Osobor hurts a little bit less for Sprinkle and company, and it’s all because of the Germany native that has burst onto the scene. In what has been one of the best freshman classes nationally in recent years, Steinbach is undoubtedly near the top. He’s averaging an 18-point, 11.3-rebound double double — those 18 points per game lead the team.
Steinbach leads the Power Five with 16 double doubles and is fourth in the country in rebounds per game.
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Zoom Diallo, sophomore guard, 6-foot-4, No. 5 — As a guard, Diallo sits 12th in the conference with a 48.8 field goal percentage. He’s second on the team in points per game (14.7). Despite what his name might indicate, Diallo’s strengths are his size and physicality, and he’s able to exploit vulnerable matchups consistently and get to the free throw line.
Franck Kepnang, graduate student center, 6-foot-11, No. 11 — Though Kepnang averages just 6.1 points per game, his impact comes on the defensive end. He’s totaled 55 blocks this season — 30 more than the team’s next closest player — and is a dependable asset, starting 24 of 26 games.
Strength
Rebouding. The Huskies pull down an average of 12 offensive rebounds per game, good for fourth-best in the conference and just behind Maryland. But they’re also equally as adept on the defensive glass, ranking fourth in the Big Ten in rebounds per game (37.3).
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Weakness
Three-point shooting. This was supposed to be Northwestern’s weakness heading into Wednesday’s game, but they hit 12 treys on over 50% shooting. Washington currently has the fourth-lowest 3-point percentage in the conference (32.1), but the Terps can’t defend the arc complacently.
Three things to watch
1. Andre Mills’ development. Over the past eight games, Mills has posted scoring totals of 16, 18, 24 and 39. His ascension as a player has been an extremely welcome sight for Terps fans in a down year. It will be worth watching whether the freshman guard can build off his supernova performance Wednesday.
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2. Collin Metcalf minutes. The senior transfer from Northeastern has seen a serious uptick in playing time recently, starting and playing at least 15 minutes in each of the team’s last six games. His paint presence and rebounding chops will be vital in combating a staunch offensive rebounding team in the Huskies.
3. Diggy Coit bounce-back? In Maryland’s two consecutive losses, Coit posted scoring totals of just 12 and 7, respectively. Coit’s high-scoring displays typically bode well for the Terps — his last three games with more than 15 points all resulted in wins. It will be interesting to see if the guard can get off to a hot start Saturday.
