Maryland couldn’t build on a small winning streak, losing in overtime at Northwestern during the week. 

However, the Terps can get back on track on Sunday against Nebraska, who is in the midst of a tailspin after a strong start to Big Ten play. The Cornhuskers have dropped three straight in league play, most recently in a close home loss to Rutgers. 

Fed Hoiberg’s group has travelled well this season, winning two non conference games on the road, including against Creighton. Can the team make the trip to College Park and contend with an NCAA Tournament club in Maryland? 

Here’s our betting preview. 

Spread

Moneyline

Total: 145.5 (Over -104/Under -118)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Nebraska

Brice Williams: Despite the three-game skid, Williams continues to produce. He has scored in double figures in all but one Big Ten game this season, including 30 points in December against Indiana and 21 against Rutgers on Thursday despite the loss. Williams will put a ton of pressure on the Maryland perimeter defense to stop him from getting to his spots on the floor as WIlliams has a 63% true shooting percentage. 

Maryland

Derik Queen: Queen showed on Thursday that he can do more than just pour it in the hoop, only scoring nine points in the loss to Northwestern on the road in overtime, but grabbing 14 rebounds. Queen is likely a lottery pick in the NBA Draft and will look to showcase his talent on Sunday afternoon. 

Maryland has been a dominant team at home this season, 11-1 on the year, but I like Nebraska to keep this one competitive in a matchup that suits the Cornhuskers well. 

First, Maryland is coming off a fairly grueling set of games that includes a come from behind effort against Minnesota and an overtime game at Northwestern. The Terps defense doesn’t do a great job of containing penetration, ranking bottom third in the country in average shot distance. That’s impactful against a Nebraska offense that is reliant on getting inside and initiating contact, ranking top 50 in free throw rate. 

The strong finishing of players like Williams can open up the floor for Nebraksa who is an average three-point shooting group on a healthy diet of threes. 

Meanwhile, the Nebraska defense does a good job on the glass and shutting off the interior, ranking fourth in the country in average shot proximity. For a Maryland offense that runs through Queen on the post, the team may need to look elsewhere on Sunday afternoon against the strong post defense of Nebraska. 

While Maryland may improve its home record, I think this game will be fairly competitive and the Terps struggle to get the necessary margin to cover the big point spread. 

PICK: Nebraska +7.5

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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On this week’s Saturday Morning Coffee Show, Josh Peterson and Jack Mitchell discussed Nebraska men’s basketball’s loss to Rutgers, the upcoming stretch of games, and how the team can come out of things in a better spot.

Below is a lightly edited transcript of their conversation on the podcast. 

Josh: That was supposed to be the win and to play like they did, to get to go down at the half and the second half, it just had that sense of dread, the entire second half. The entire second half was full of dread.

Jack: But do you remember after the Rutgers game last year, where I thought Juwan Gary tore his Achilles tendon, of course, and that was a bad spot. Don’t you remember how they played in that game? They just got like physically destroyed by a different, very different Rutgers team then. I mailed that season in at that point, and it got better. So, there’ll still be some good moments, but the schedule is weird because the road games. They’re still such underdogs in these road games. Like they would go, I don’t expect them to, but if they would go get a win against Maryland tomorrow, it basically, everything’s erased. Everything’s back to where it was three games ago, at least resume-wise.

Josh: Or if they lose, it’s suddenly four straight and another road loss…

Jack: The USC is the one, the USC is the one that, in Lincoln, is the one that could derail the season.

Josh: Well, you and I talked about that when you filled in a week ago yesterday, right? Where if they don’t pick up any of these road wins, it’s gonna put so much pressure on the USC game. And now, Jack, I would say that pressure is already there, but now there is gonna be some pressure on the home games, given that they just lost to Rutgers.

To see more, watch the video below! And for access to the entire conversation, consider becoming a member of the I-80 Club today! Do so at patreon.com/I80Club.

MORE: How to Watch Nebraska Men’s Basketball at Maryland: Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel

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Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.

Maryland men’s basketball is coming off a heartbreaking loss to Northwestern, as Nick Martinelli drained a buzzer-beater for the win at the end of overtime. Point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie twice tied the contest — with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and in overtime — but it wasn’t enough to propel the Terps, who are now 0-4 on the road.

Maryland now turns its attention to a program currently on a losing skid: Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers are on a three-game losing streak, most recently suffering a three-point loss to Rutgers, in which freshman phenoms Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper scored 24 and 21 points respectively. Nebraska also lost to then-No. 20 Purdue and Iowa. Its best wins of the season came over Creighton, UCLA and Indiana.

Sunday’s game will begin at noon and air on Big Ten Network.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-5, 2-4)

2023-24 record: 23-11, 12-8 Big Ten

Head coach Fred Hoiberg is in his sixth season at the helm of Nebraska men’s basketball. Last season, he helped the Cornhuskers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014.

Prior to his time in Lincoln, Nebraska, Hoiberg spent three full seasons as head coach of the Chicago Bulls, where he made the playoffs once and won more than 40 games in two seasons. He also guided Iowa State to a 115-56 record in his five seasons as its head coach.

Players to watch

Brice Williams, senior guard, 6-foot-7, No. 3 — Not only is Williams a mismatch for Maryland with his towering height, he’s also one of the most prolific offensive threats in the Big Ten. He averages 18.9 points per game, good for fifth in the conference. He’s also second on the team with 2.5 assists per game.

Juwan Gary, senior forward, 6-foot-6, No. 4 — Gary is Nebraska’s second-leading scorer, averaging 12.1 points per game. He’s also one of the team’s best defensive players, as he ranks second in both steals (22) and blocks (9). Gary has started every game for the Cornhuskers this season.

Connor Essegian, junior guard, 6-foot-4, No. 0 — Essegian is Nebraska’s third-leading scorer, averaging 11.6 points per game. He has played in all 17 games this season, but has started just three. He leads the team in 3-point percentage, shooting 40.7% from downtown.

Strength

Not fouling. Nebraska, like Maryland, has done a good job so far this season at not fouling. It is tied with the Terps for the third-fewest personal fouls per game in the Big Ten.

Weakness

Turnovers. The Cornhuskers give the ball away the third most in the Big Ten, with 12.2 turnovers per game. They also have the second-worst assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference at 1.13.

Three things to watch

1. Can Derik Queen bounce back? Queen has had an up-and-down slate of Big Ten games. After impressing against Minnesota, he faltered against Northwestern, posting just nine points and undergoing multiple defensive lapses. Whether or not he returns to form against Nebraska will be worthy of note.

2. Can the Terps close late? While it won a relatively tight game against Minnesota, late finishes against then-No. 9 Oregon, Minnesota and Northwestern did not go the Terps’ way. Sunday’s game projects to be another close contest, and Maryland needs to prove it can win if the game comes down to the final few possessions.

3. Can Maryland match up with Nebraska’s guards? The Terps had some trouble against Northwestern’s 6-foot-6 guard Brooks Barnhizer, who scored 20 points. With Williams and Essegian standing at 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-4, respectively, Maryland will be faced with a similar challenge.