The Big Ten conference tournament might not be getting all of the publicity this year, but there are certainly some teams getting ready to play that will make some noise come time for the NCAA tournament. One of those teams will be Maryland while Michigan State hopes to be another. Back in December, these two teams put up a thrilling game with the Terrapins getting the big win and they hope history can repeat itself in order to reach the finals.
Maryland is fresh off two good wins over the Michigan State Spartans and needs just one more in order to reach the finals and fully welcome themselves to Big Ten play. The No. 8 Terrapins are enjoying success in their first year of the conference after leaving the ACC. There first game against the Spartans came with a last-minute 3-point shot by Dez Wells to force overtime and then another overtime before Maryland got the win. The second game was a much easier win.
Maryland is fresh off a win over Indiana on Friday. Regardless of what happens against Michigan, the Terrapins will likely make their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2010 where they lost to Michigan State on a buzzer beater in the round of 32. These two teams have a solid amount of history against one another and now Maryland has the chance to become the first team since Wisconsin to beat the Spartans three times in one season.
The Terrapins have eight straight wins under the belt and look to make it nine. After having some injuries to deal with, they will get most players back and healthy. Reserve forward Michal Cekovsky will be back after sitting out with a stomach virus. Michigan State has conference success working in their favor that they should be able to use to at least make a run against Maryland.
Michigan State is on a three-game win streak at the moment, but this year has been disappointing since they won last year's Big Ten tournament. The Spartans are no stranger to high-pressured games and look to take advantage of another big matchup.
