The freshly-minted No. 3 team in the country will face its biggest test of the season on Saturday. It's not Maryland's visit to Madison, though that should be challenging enough, rather the Terrapins could be without the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year after Melo Trimble sat out the second half Tuesday with a hamstring injury.
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HOW THE MARYLAND TERRAPINS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Maryland breezed through a relatively easy non-conference schedule ahead of its Big Ten slate and hasn't faced any of the big boys in the conference yet. The Terps don't have a clear quality win and have only played one team worthy of beating them – which North Carolina did.
But Maryland is a winner thanks to some impressive shooting. Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Melo Trimble is leading the way, but he gets plenty of help from Duke transfer Rasheed Sulaimon. In fact Maryland's starting five all average in double figures with each connecting on better than 47 percent of their shot attempts.
Only Jared Nickens averages more than 20 minutes a game off the bench, so depth could be an issue for Maryland if one or more of the starters gets in foul trouble. The reserves may have to step up Saturday after Trimble didn't play the second half of Wednesday's win over Rutgers with an apparent hamstring injury.
What makes Maryland so difficult to play against is their versatility. If Trimble and Sulaimon don't hurt opponents from the outside, they pound the ball down low to Diamond Stone and Robert Carter. Those two took advantage of a size discrepancy against Rutgers to combine for 27 points and 17 rebounds.
HOW THE WISCONSIN BADGERS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The season has played out in an all too familiar way for the Badgers so far. No one has yet to assume a leadership role after the team lost several key contributors from its national championship runner-up squad. Gone are the likes of Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker, Trae Jackson, Duje Dukan and Josh Gasser. A lot of experience and production walked out of the Kohl Center following the loss to Duke in the title game.
There still is plenty of talent on the Badgers roster. Ethan Happ and Zak Showalter joined veterans Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig, but none of the upperclassmen have assumed the role that Kaminsky and Dekker played so well.
That was evident Tuesday in Wisconsin's latest heart-breaking defeat. The inability to execute down the stretch cost the Badgers in a 59-58 loss to Indiana. It was their fourth loss this season by one or two points and further illustrated one of the team's current weaknesses. Another familiar refrain played out for the Badgers, whose shooting struggles also played a large role in their latest loss.
But these are correctible areas. Hayes manned up after the Indiana loss, taking the blame for not doing enough as a leader of the team. Koenig chimed in, saying he wasn't aggressive enough on the offensive end when UW suffered through two major droughts. If the Badgers are able to overcome those obstacles, they could be a factor in the Big Ten race.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Terps are pretty good, but they will be tested by an eager group of Badgers, who are seething after they let another close game slip through their grasp Tuesday at Indiana. It was bad enough Wisconsin lost several key players from its team that lost to Duke in last season's national championship game, then long-time coach Bo Ryan called it quits after the season began. Maybe he knew something about his 2015-16 squad. UW has been close in several games, but just doesn't have the playmakers last season's team did. Maryland's starting five is loaded and can beat you in several ways, which makes the Terps a tough opponent. They have an outside game with Trimble and Sulaimon at the guards, a pair of big men who are smooth around the basket and 6-foot-9 swingman Jake Layman who has a sweet three-point stroke. The Terps are in trouble if they have to go deep on the bench and Trimble's injury could be a concern.
Maryland 71, Wisconsin 64
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