COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Beating ranked teams on the road. The Terps have a knack for doing it.
On December 28 they won at No. 6 Wisconsin 70-64. On January 10 they won at No. 12 Illinois 66-63. And last Saturday they won at No. 17 Minnesota 63-49.
Now it’s time to see if they can do it at home.
"We just got to be as dialed in as we’ve been on those wins that we got against ranked opponents," said Terps guard Aaron Wiggins. "Just got to be locked in."
Coming off a program-record third road win over a ranked opponent the Terrapins (9-7, 3-6) get a rematch with the Badgers. Now No. 14 Wisconsin (12-4, 6-3) comes to College Park on Wednesday night.
"We expect them to show us different things defensively and offensively that maybe they didn’t do as much of in the first game," said Terps Head Coach Mark Turgeon. "We realize that they are going to be fired up to play us."
A defensive performance like Saturday’s win at Minnesota will help against Wisco. The Terps held the Gophers to just 49 points on 30-percent shooting. Looks like Maryland has started to find its calling card.
"We’ve all realized that when we’re a defensive-minded team we’ll win games and that we have a better chance," said Wiggins.
"I think we’ve kind of figured out a way that we have to play to give ourselves a chance to be successful in this league," added Turgeon. "Our identity has to be defense for us to win."
The Badgers are no slouch on the defensive side themselves. They lead the Big Ten allowing only 62.2 points per game and they’re balanced. Wisconsin ranks in the top-25 in the country for both offensive and defensive efficiency.
"They’re coming into our home. Everybody knows it’s hard to beat a team two times in a row. So, we just got to go out there… play our game. Stay focused, stay locked in and it should be a good one," said Terps forward Donta Scott.
With a win on Wednesday the Terps will have consecutive victories over ranked opponents for the first time since February of 2007, when they beat Duke and North Carolina back-to-back. Tip-off against Wisconsin is scheduled for 9:00 p.m.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
