COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The last time the University of Maryland men’s basketball team started 0-4 in-conference their current home, the Xfinity Center, was still a decade from opening. It was 1992-93 when the Terps started 0-4 in the ACC. With a loss on Wednesday it will be 0-5 in the Big Ten.
It’s been a tumultuous 2022 inside Xfinity Center but the Terps are pushing forward with positivity as they hit the road for their game at Northwestern.
"We don’t get off to the start that we want. We don’t have the number of wins that we want. But we also know that we are two possessions, we are three possessions here, four possessions there from it being a different outcome," said Terps interim head coach Danny Manning.
Their latest defeat was Sunday’s tough loss to now No. 13 ranked Wisconsin, It was a game that saw the Terps overcome a 21-point deficit to take a second half lead, only to fall 70-69. They know they have to avoid the slow start.
"It’s something that we’ve talked about," said Manning. "It’s something that we’ve acknowledged, that we have to do a better job at."
They also want to do a better job at getting more production from their big men - Qudus Wahab and Julian Reese. They have combined for only ten points over the last two games. The freshman from Baltimore, Reese, thinks even with the team’s struggles they are on the cusp of something greater.
"Everything now is starting to come together, really. I feel like us taking a loss to Wisconsin really makes us better," he said. "Us taking these losses really makes us better, really because we are right there. We just get over this last hump, I feel like we can start with Northwestern."
Tip-off Wednesday in Evanston is set for 9:00 p.m. eastern.
If the Terps lose to Northwestern it will match their worst conference start in three decades. They started 0-6 back in 1991-92.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
