How to watch Penn State basketball vs. Maryland: Live stream, players to watch & key matchups
Penn State men’s basketball will play its final scheduled game of the season Sunday night in a matchup with the Maryland Terrapins. The Nittany Lions are 9-13 on the season and 6-12 in the Big Ten.
Here’s everything you need to know about the game against the Terps.
Players to watch
John Harrar: Penn State’s first matchup with Maryland — a 55-50 home victory for the Nittany Lions — was an ugly game that saw plenty of shots missing the mark. One of the reasons the Nittany Lions were able to pull out the win was their ability to dominate the glass. They created extra offensive possessions with offensive rebounds and put a finite end to Maryland’s opportunities by pulling down defensive boards. Senior center John Harrar was at the forefront of those efforts on both ends of the court. He finished the game with 12 rebounds, including four on offense, to lead Penn State in both categories.
His showing helped give the Nittany Lions a 40-29 rebounding advantage and an 11-5 advantage on the offensive glass. Harrar, who will have a physicality advantage no matter who the Terrapins throw at him, should be in line for a similar effort to finish out the regular season. If he’s able to contribute more offensively in the last game when he scored eight points, it will be icing on the cake for Penn State as the team tries to sweep Maryland on the season.
Key matchup
Maryland’s guards vs. Penn State’s guards: The Terrapins rely heavily on their two best guards to generate offense both for themselves and others. Eric Ayala and Aaron Wiggins — Maryland’s two leading scorers — account for 28.4 points per game and 4.7 assists per game and slowing down one — or both — will be important for Penn State. When the two teams first met earlier this year, Ayala lit up the scoreboard for 23 points on only 11 field goal attempts and took nine free throws in the game, making all of them. However, the Nittany Lions were able to grind Wiggins’ production to a halt to give Maryland trouble. He finished with a meager two points on 11 field goal attempts in the game and the duo combined for only two assists.
Jamari Wheeler and Izaiah Brockington will likely be tasked with the two leading scorers more often than any other Penn State players and will need to limit them whenever they can. And when players like Myreon Jones and Sam Sessoms are guarding Ayala and Wiggins, they’ll have to mitigate their production whenever possible.
How to watch
Who: Penn State Nittany Lions (9-13) at Maryland Terrapins (15-11)
When: 7 p.m., Sunday, March 7 | Where: Xfinity Center
TV: Big Ten Network
Live stream: FoxSportsGo
Online radio stream: GoPSUSports (university-run)
