Maryland

Nickname: Terrapins

Conference: Big Ten

Location: College Park, Maryland

Website: https://umterps.com/index.aspx?path=mbball

Head coach: Mark Turgeon, ninth season at Maryland (180-92 record at Maryland)

2018-19 record: 23-11 (13-7 in Big Ten)

Last time in NCAA Tournament: 2018, lost in the round of 32

Top three returning scorers:

• Anthony Cowan, senior, guard, 15.6 ppg
• Jalen Smith, sophomore, forward, 11.7 ppg
• Eric Ayala, sophomore, guard, 8.6 ppg

Key loss: Bruno Fernando, drafted in second round, forward, 13.6 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 64 blocks

Exciting newcomers: The twins Mekhel Mitchell and Mekhi Mitchell are 6-foot-9 forwards from the Washington D.C. area. The highly regarded recruits should immediately help to fill in for the loss of Bruno Fernando. Makhi Mitchell is the more heralded of the twins, exiting high school as the No. 69 (editor’s note: nice!) player in the nation. The duo were absolutely dominant in the prep ranks, and will bamboozle fans from the get go with their names.

Date of game: Tuesday, January 14th, 8 p.m. on ESPN
Location: Kohl Center, Madison, Wisconsin

Preview: Anthony Cowan and Jalen Smith are a great duo. The two players return from a year ago, and according to Mark Turgeon at B1G Media Day have looked really good in practice. Maryland is expecting a big jump from Jalen Smith, who is one of the better athletes in the conference. He had a stellar freshman season, and his sophomore year should be even better. Cowan is a dynamic floor general. While he is a smaller lead guard he is the type of senior leader that teams generally have on a great team.

Maryland enters the season as the preseason No. 7 team according to the recently released AP-Poll. The Terrapins, with a bevy of weapons at Mark Turgeon's disposal, should be one of the top teams in the Big Ten, as well as the nation. Maryland was able to surprise people last season with a youth movement. With the majority of that talent returning, and the addition of the Mitchell twins, Maryland will be a tough matchup in the Big Ten and in postseason play.

Prediction: The Badgers got a favorable draw by only seeing Maryland once during the regular season. That lone matchup will be at home. This game should be highly anticipated, and the Kohl Center should be rocking. I think the game will come down to the wire, but I think Maryland may be too much to overcome.