The Iowa men’s basketball team will make its first trip to the Terps’ turf.
By Ian Murphy
Winning on the road can make a strong case for an NCAA tournament resume.
And winning on the road is something the Hawkeyes have excelled at this season, both in and out of the Big Ten.
In five true road games, the Hawkeyes only blemish came against Iowa State in Ames. Their wins include contests at Marquette, in Mackey Arena against Purdue, in the Louis Brown Athletic Center against Rutgers, and most notably at the Breslin Center against Michigan State.
But the Xfinity Center in College Park, Maryland will be an environment unlike any the Hawkeyes have played in, for the simple fact the Hawkeyes have never played there.
The Hawkeyes also played their first road game at Rutgers this season, and head coach Fran McCaffery said playing in a building for the first time doesn’t make much difference.
“It happened the other day at Rutgers,” he said. “We’re used to those kinds of facilities on the road, big crowds, loud. Nothing different there.”
The biggest difference between this game and the game at Rutgers, however, are the stakes.
The Terrapins sit at 17-3 overall, 6-2 in the Big Ten. A win for Maryland provides a boost in their resume, while a loss would dampen their conference title hopes that much more.
The Hawkeyes, meanwhile, can add another win over a ranked opponent and give themselves a full game lead over Indiana, which lost Tuesday at Wisconsin to give the Hawkeyes sole possession of first place in the conference.
A road win, McCaffery said, comes with a higher sense of accomplishment.
“You really have to be together on the floor and you have to hold on to the game plan because there is so much noise,” McCaffery said. “You have to really communicate with each other and you have to pull each other over and you have to help and support one another on the floor.”
That game plan includes shutting down a top-flight point guard Melo Trimble, superstar freshman Diamond Stone, and Duke transfer Rasheed Sulaimon.
Trimble averages 14.8 points and 5.7 assist per game, while Stone averages 13.1 points per game.
Their counterparts, seniors Mike Gesell and Adam Woodbury, will have their hands full, but the Hawkeyes say they are up for the challenge.
“I don’t know if we have a formula,” Woodbury said. “If we continue to move the ball and to play defense the way we are we’ll be able to beat any team.”
Things will be tough on the defensive end, but the offensive end may be tougher still; the Hawkeyes will go up against a Maryland team with the third best scoring defense in the conference.
The Terrapins have allowed 64.1 points per game this season, while the Hawkeyes average 81.7, good for second in the conference.
Iowa’s latest top-10 matchup will likely be their toughest yet, and the energy they bring could go a long way towardsdetermining the final score in this matchup of Titans.
