Penn State Basketball vs. Maryland: NIT hopes on the line?
By Evan Smith
Penn State Basketball travels to Maryland Sunday night at 7:00 pm on the Big Ten Network (Fox Sports App) to try to earn the season sweep over the Terrapins in a game with significant NIT implications.
Here’s a look at everything you need to know about Penn State Basketball’s pivotal clash against Maryland:
Tale of the Tape
KenPom: Penn State 35, Maryland 28
NET: Penn State 48, Maryland 32
Conference Standings: Penn State 11th (6-12, 9-13 overall) Maryland 8th (9-10, 15-11 overall)
Spread: Maryland -5
About the Terrapins: Maryland is one of the lowest scoring teams in the B1G (remember PSU’s 55-50 victory over them a month ago) but have some strong balance. Guards Eric Ayala and Aaron Wiggins are the leading scorers at 14.5 and 13.9 points per game. Forward Donta Scott is next with 11.3 points per game and leads the team with 6.7 rebounds (Wiggins is second at 5.7). Guard Darryl Morsell is another well known name, shooting almost 50% from the field despite struggling from deep this year (26.7%). Their best three pointers are forwards Scott and Jarius Hamilton. Maryland only has seven players that average more than eight minutes a game (sound familiar). In reality, this Terrapin team is very similar to the Nittany Lions; they’ve just won a few more of their close games and that’s why they’re in the NCAA Tournament and we’re not.
BUT, perhaps Penn State’s post-season chances aren’t done yet.
With the NIT announcing just a 16 team model this year, odds for the 9-13 Nittany Lions look grim. However, a NIT Bracketologist (aptly found @joestunardi) currently has Penn State as a 9 seed! When I asked him about Penn State’s record, he told me:
If the committee doesn’t care about how close they are to .500, I’d guess no—that they can afford to lose that one. If the committee does care, they’re probably not making it either way. It’s a pretty big unknown, which is why it isn’t in our model
— Joe Stunardi (@joestunardi) March 7, 2021
Good news!
So, while Penn State is locked in the 11 seed for the upcoming B1G Tournament, this game sure does matter. Because postseason basketball is where #weclimb!