This is part two of a two-part series taking a look at how Iowa athletics match up against Big Ten newcomers Rutgers and Maryland. The Daily Iowan broke down Rutgers on Monday.
Tuesday marked the beginning of Rutgers’ and Maryland’s arrival in the Big Ten. Maryland has eight men’s sports and 11 women’s sports.
Football — 7-6 in 2013
A 31-20 loss to Marshal in the Military Bowl ended an injury-plagued season for the Terps. Of the two Big Ten newcomers, however, it looks as if Maryland has the better shot at winning right away.
QB C.J. Brown, a 2,000-yard passer, can also do damage with his feet, rushing for more than 500 yards last year. He leads a formidable attack with recievers to target. Levern Jacobs and Stefon Diggs, who picked up 640 and 587 yards, respectively, led the aerial game. Leading rusher Brandon Ross — who racked up 776 yards and 4 touchdowns — is also back for the Terps.
On the defensive side of things, senior Andre Monroe provides veteran leadership on the line with his 42 tackles and 9.5 sacks. Junior end Quinton Jefferson is also a solid player who had 47 tackles last season.
Iowa is scheduled to travel to Maryland on Oct. 18.
Wrestling — 9-8 in 2013-14
Maryland will be hurt by the loss of senior 184-pounder Jimmy Sheptock, who finished second in the NCAA Tournament, losing to Penn State’s Ed Ruth.
Maryland will have to find some sort of magic, moving from a conference not known for its wrestling prowess to the best wrestling conference in the nation.
Iowa will take on Maryland on Jan. 11, 2015.
Men’s Basketball — 17-15
Maryland’s pedestrian season ended with a 67-65 loss to Florida State in the ACC Tournament. The Terps finished 184th overall, averaging just under 80 points per game, while they shot 43 percent from the field — good for the nation’s No. 244 spot.
Maryland went 9-9 in the ACC.
Women’s Basketball — 28-7
This is one of two sports with perhaps the most promise for Maryland. After a Final Four loss to Notre Dame, the Terps lost leading scorer Alyssa Thomas, who averaged 19 points per game in her senior year.
There’s a bit of drop-off after that; the next leading scorer — Lexie Brown — only averaged 10.1 points last season. Maryland also lost its leading rebounder, Alicia DeVaughn, to graduation.
Baseball — 40-23 in 2014
Without mincing words, Maryland has an absolute stud returning in the form of Brandon Lowe. As a redshirt freshman, he hit .348, which would have ranked fourth in the Big Ten last season. That average came facing ACC pitching, which is traditionally regarded as higher quality than that of the Big Ten variety.
His .464 on base percentage would have tied former Indiana catcher and Chicago Cub draft pick Kyle Schwarber atop the conference.
Field Hockey
The other of the two most promising sports, Maryland field hockey lost to Duke in the Final Four.
The Terps spent a large chunk of the season atop the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll as well.
Jill Witmer returns after racking up 47 points last season, including 19 goals.
Iowa is scheduled to travel to Maryland on Nov. 1.
Other Sports
Track and Field — Finished tied for 37th at NCAA meet.