Maryland (8-5, 0-3) vs. #23 Wisconsin (12-2, 3-1)
January 9, 2021
XFINITY Center
7:30 pm EDT
COLLEGE PARK, MDÂ -Â The Maryland men's basketball team returns to XFINITY Center in College Park for a Sunday evening matchup with No. 23 Wisconsin on Big Ten Network and the Maryland Sports Radio Network. It marks the third of four games in 10 days (three on the road) to re-open the Big Ten slate for the Terps.
Maryland suffered a 80-75 defeat to Iowa on Monday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena its last time out, getting 19 points from
Eric Ayala and 16 from
Fatts Russell.Â
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WISCONSIN STORYLINES
DONTA'S INFERNO
- Junior forward Donta Scott is averaging 14.4 points over his last five outings, including a team-high 17 points against Illinois on Thursday evening.
Ayala finding his form
- All-Big Ten senior guard Eric Ayala is averaging 19.2 points over his last five games, shooting 31-of-57 (.544) from the field and .483 from beyond the arc.
- In the three previous games prior to the recent outburst, Ayala had averaged just 7.0 points on 25-percent shooting.
PLAYING WITH HARTÂ
- Junior guard Hakim Hart is averaging 12.6 points and shooting 38-of-65 (.537) from the field over the last seven games.
- He has reached double-figures in every game during that seven-game span, after reaching the mark just nine times in his first 55 collegiate games.
- Hart has made 20 consecutive free throws dating back to Dec. 12 against Florida. The program record of 40 is held by the legendary Juan Dixon, who set the mark in 2000-01.
- Hart is also second in the Big Ten in steals/g (1.79). The Terrapins are 7-0 when Hart notches at least two steals in a game this season.
LEAGUE OF HIS OWN
- Graduate guard Fatts Russell is the only active player in Division I with more than 1,700 points, 450 assists and 225 steals.
- Among active Division I players, he currently ranks 7th in free throws made (466), 12th in steals (225), 25th in points (1,769) and 36th in assists (463).
TAKING DOWN THE TOP-25Â
- Maryland is looking to pick up its second ranked victory of the season Sunday night, after already defeating then-No. 20 Florida.
- Maryland is one of six teams in the country with at least four wins over ranked opponents each of the last three seasons (MSU, Michigan, Purdue, Iowa, Kansas).
SERIES HISTORY
- Maryland is 3-2 overall at home against Wisconsin since joining the Big Ten in 2014-15.
- The teams split the season series last year, with both picking up road victories. Then-sophomore Donta Scott averaged 12.5 points across the two games.
Click here for this week's game notes.
