COLLEGE PARK, Md. -  The No. 9 Maryland men's basketball team, which sits alone atop the Big Ten standings, is set to face Michigan State in East Lansing Saturday evening at 6:00 pm on ESPN. The Terps have won seven straight games, including three on the road.

An eighth straight win would be their longest since joining the league in 2014-15. Maryland's 20-4 start is tied for its second-best 24 game start in history.

STORYLINES

• Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon (200-96; .676) became the fifth coach in progam history to record 200 victories with the win against Nebraska. Only Lefty Driesell (285 games) reached the milestone faster in Maryland history. Turgeon's .657 winning pct. in Big Ten play ranks fifth among coaches with 50 wins over the last 40 years, trailing only Bo Ryan, Bob Knight, Tom Izzo and Thad Matta.

• All-American candidate Jalen Smith has recorded seven straight double-doubles (all Terp wins), and is averaging 18.7 points (57% FG), 12.1 rebounds and 2.9 blocks during that span. Smith, who leads the Big Ten with 14 double-doubles (fifth nationally), is a top-10 candidate for the Karl Malone Award.

• The Terrapins have improved across a number of categories during their seven-game win streak compared to their first 17 games, most notably 3-pt FG/s (7.0 to 9.0), 3-pt FG% (.306 to .342), assists/g (12.5 to 15.0) and turnovers/g (12.8 to 10.1). 

• Senior Anthony Cowan Jr. recorded his first double-double (13pts/10asts) since his sophomore season vs. Nebraksa. Jalen Smith and Donta Scott (first career) also recorded double-doubles, marking the first time since 2001 Maryland had three players achieve the feat in the same game.

• As of Feb. 13, the Terps checked in at No. 8 in the NET rankings. The Terps are 11-4 against quad 1&2 opponents, with all four losses coming to quad 1 opponents. Maryland also ranks 10th according to KenPom, featuring the 5th-best defensive efficiency in the country.

• Maryland has won five games this year when trailing by double-digits, and is 6-4 when trailing at halftime and 3-3 when trailing with 5:00 to play. Maryland is the first power-5 team since UCLA (2004-05) to come back from deficits of at least 14 points in the second half in conference action.

• Anthony Cowan Jr. (1763) moved into the top-10 on Maryland's scoring charts with 20 points at Illinois, and needs 11 points to pass Keith Booth for 9th (see page 2 for full list). Cowan is also second all-time in free throws made (536) and fifth in assists (547). He has started all 123 games of his career, and is on pace to break Keith Booth's record of 126 consecutive starts. 

Full notes can be viewed here.

TERPS GAMEDAY

• Fans are reminded that the Maryland Athletics Clear Bag Policy is in effect for all Maryland home games for the 2019-20 season. For more information, please click here.

• For further information on gameday at the XFINITY Center, please reference the XFINITY Center A-Z guide.