When Maryland hosts Penn State on Sunday, something has to give. Both programs are still searching for their first Big Ten win of the season, and with each team riding a four-game losing streak and dropping seven of their last eight, this matchup in College Park feels less like a battle for conference positioning and more like a desperate bid to stop the bleeding.
Let’s start with the basics. Maryland sits at 7-10 overall, 0-6 in Big Ten play.
Penn State is a tick better at 9-8, but also winless in the conference at 0-6. And while the records are similar, the ways these teams have arrived here tell two different stories.
Maryland’s conference losses haven’t just been defeats-they’ve been decisive. Every Big Ten game the Terrapins have played has ended in a double-digit loss.
That’s a tough pill to swallow for a team trying to find its footing, especially when you're also dealing with the absence of your top scorer. Pharrel Payne, averaging 17.5 points per game, has been sidelined with a knee injury, and his presence-or lack thereof-has loomed large.
Penn State, meanwhile, has been right there in several of its losses. Four of the Nittany Lions’ six conference defeats have come by single digits, and all of those were against ranked opponents.
That’s the kind of stat that can be both encouraging and maddening. As guard Eli Rice put it, “Close doesn’t get you the win.
It doesn’t mean anything. It’s still a zero in the column.”
The Nittany Lions are also banged up. Top scorer Kayden Mingo (14.9 ppg) is out with a broken nose, and there’s real concern about whether their No. 2 option, Freddie Dilione V (14.1 ppg), will be available after suffering a right ankle injury early in Wednesday’s 71-60 loss to UCLA.
Dilione logged just eight minutes before exiting, and without him, Penn State struggled to generate offense-especially from deep, shooting just 4-for-22 (18.2%) from beyond the arc. Combine that with a 32-21 rebounding disadvantage, and it’s not hard to see why they couldn’t keep up with the Bruins.
Maryland, for its part, is coming off a tough West Coast swing, dropping games to UCLA and USC. The most recent was an 88-71 loss to the Trojans, where David Coit poured in 30 points and Solomon Washington chipped in with 11 points and eight boards.
But the assist numbers told the real story-just six total for the team, with no player recording more than one. That speaks to a lack of offensive cohesion, something that’s been a recurring issue all season.
Statistically, the Terrapins are struggling across the board. They’re last in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (39.8%) and three-point shooting (31.2%).
Turnovers? They’re coughing it up 13.2 times per game-more than any other team in the conference.
That’s a tough combo to overcome, especially when you’re not getting easy buckets or second-chance points.
Head coach Buzz Williams tried to find a silver lining in the split performances against UCLA and USC. “If we could take the second half from UCLA and the first half from USC, those would be the two best halves,” he said.
“Unfortunately, they don’t let you do that.” He’s not wrong-consistency has been elusive for this group.
So here we are. Two teams, both 0-6 in Big Ten play, both dealing with injuries to key players, both in desperate need of a win.
For Maryland, it’s about finding some offensive rhythm and taking better care of the basketball. For Penn State, it’s about finishing games and hoping their injury situation doesn’t get worse before it gets better.
One way or another, someone is walking out of College Park with a conference win. And for two teams who’ve spent the last few weeks searching for answers, that would feel like a small but meaningful breakthrough.