With two straight wins last week over Nebraska and Minnesota, Penn State men’s basketball suddenly had life and a real path to claim one of the 15 spots in the Big Ten Tournament. However, a Wednesday night 83-78 loss to Indiana at Assembly Hall all but ended the Nittany Lions season.
With two games left in the regular season, Penn State is in 17th place in the 18-team Big Ten conference at 5-13 and is stuck behind four teams with six wins. Even if Mike Rhoades’s team bounces back to win the next two games, first at home against the No. 16 Maryland Terrapins, and then on the road at No. 11 Wisconsin, the chances are slim that they would jump into a top 15 spot.
Now that their postseason dreams are essentially squashed, the Nittany Lions are forced to embrace their role as a spoiler down the stretch. Maryland suffered a devastating loss at home to Michigan State on a half-court heave at the buzzer this week, and at 11-6 in Big Ten play is in danger of slipping behind Purdue and UCLA. The Terps need to remain a top-four seed in the Big Ten to claim a double-bye for the conference tournament in Indianapolis.
Maryland star freshman center Derik Queen will be a handful for Penn State junior big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser and Nittany Lions point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. will look to shut down veteran transfer guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie on Saturday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center. Here’s how you can watch this Big Ten contest on Big Ten Network:
How to watch Penn State vs. Maryland
- Date: Saturday, March 1
- Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
- Venue: Bryce Jordan Center (State College, PA)
- How to Watch: BTN
- How to stream: Fubo TV
- Maryland record: 21-7 (11-6)
- Penn State record: 15-14 (5-13)