The Big Ten is a monster.
There’s no denying that Maryland men’s basketball has gone through the gauntlet, as it hit the road for three of its first four, and five of its first six, conference games.
Head coach Kevin Willard has stated how schedule dictates how you play, and his team was dealt a difficult hand. After winning its opening Big Ten game against Illinois at home on Dec. 2, the Terps suffered their first overall loss at Wisconsin on Dec. 6. The Terps then suffered back-to-back losses to Tennessee in New York and UCLA at home — two of the best teams in the nation — during the gap between early Big Ten play and its resumption in early January.