Iowa men’s basketball, seeded No. 9 in this year’s Big Ten Tournament, is gearing up for a crucial rematch against No. 17-seeded Maryland, set to be played at the United Center at 11 a.m. Central Time on Wednesday, March 11. The winner will face No. 8-seeded Ohio State on Thursday.
Maryland is 12-20 overall this season, including 4-16 in Big Ten action, but saw an explosive first half over Oregon in Tuesday’s game to advance to the second round. The Terrapins outscored the Ducks by 20 in the first 20 minutes and won, 70-60.
Guard David Coit led Maryland with 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the floor, followed by forward Elijah Saunders with 15, two of five Terrapins to finish in double digits.
The two squads clashed for the first time this season on Dec. 6, 2025, when the Terrapins visited Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Aided by a 12-point spark from freshman Tate Sage, the Hawkeyes surged to an 83-64 victory.
During Iowa’s trip to College Park however, the Terrapins bit back with a 77-70 triumph on Feb. 6. Despite 32 points from senior Bennett Stirtz, Iowa couldn’t contain Maryland’s 53.2 percent clip from the field, including a 34.8 percent three-point mark. Coit scored 19 points off the bench in that contest while starting guard Andre Mills added 24.
The drastically different outcomes of these two games adds more fuel to the fire of both teams.
First-year head coach Ben McCollum stressed the importance of being prepared for the matchup, especially after glaring losses to Maryland and Penn State, both ranked among the worst teams in the Big Ten.
“I think we’ve got good talent,” McCollum said at media availability Tuesday. “We don’t have the talent that can show up at 97 percent though, or 95 percent. We have to be at 100 percent because that is our greatest talent, our ability to be ready and to be intense and to compete at a high level.”
Both programs have only won one of their last five games, but Iowa leads in stats nearly all across the board, including points per game, where Maryland ranks last in the Big Ten, and points allowed per game.
Another crucial aspect of the game will be turnovers. The Hawkeyes are averaging 9.6 turnovers per game, while the Terrapins commit 12.4 turnovers per game on average.
Maryland committed 18 turnovers to Iowa’s 10 turnovers in the first meeting between the two teams this season. That number dropped to 11 turnovers in College Park, however, and the Terrapins won by seven points, despite only two Iowa turnovers.
Add in Stirtz averaging 1.5 steals per game, nearly twice as many as junior guard Isaiah Watts’ 0.8 turnovers per game, and Iowa has a sizable advantage in controlling the rock.
“The first game in any tournament is always the toughest,” McCollum said. “It’s the only game you have. We really focus on one game at a time.”
Iowa and Maryland will play Wednesday at 11 a.m. Central Time on Peacock.