Maryland (23-5, 11-4) pulled off a huge win over Wisconsin (25-3, 13-2) in front of a capacity crowd at the Xfinity center last night. Maryland was fueled by Senior Dez Wells who had 27 points and 7 rebounds. Freshman Melo Trimble, who has been Maryland’s best player this year, contributed 16 points.
Maryland, who had won three straight games before last night, was still not playing their best basketball and had many wondering what kind of threat they were in the tournament. The Terps had won their last three games by a combined 9 points.
By winning last night, Maryland put themselves in a very good position for the stretch run. Maryland is only ½ up on Purdue and Michigan St for the 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, but owns the tiebreaker over both of them and have a much easier schedule in these last two weeks. The Terps, now in the top 10 in the RPI, now have a couple marquee wins over Wisconsin and Iowa St and now seemed primed for a very solid seed in the NCAA tournament.
Wisconsin played some uncharacteristic basketball last night. The Badgers, who are one of the nation’s most efficient offenses, managed only 20 points in the first half last night. National Player of the Year contender, Frank Kaminsky, had 18 points and Same Dekker added 14.
This loss does not affect Wisconsin in many ways. The Badgers are still in the driver’s seat for a Big 10 championship and still very much in play for a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The biggest problem for Wisconsin is their lack of wins away from Madison. Wisconsin’s only road win over a potential NCAA tournament this year came against Iowa.
One of Wisconsin’s major problems is their depth. They play mostly 7-8 players a game and those players have racked up some mileage. They should get a boost in the coming games as they expect point guard Traevon Jackson to return soon.
Maryland’s welcomes Michigan to town this weekend and the Badgers will return home to face Michigan State.