COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Returning home after three consecutive games away from the friendly confines of Xfinity Center, No. 21 Maryland (16-5, 7-3 Big Ten) will host a Northwestern (12-8, 3-6) team Jan. 29 that is known for its experience and tough defense.

After losing two in a row with the most recent defeat coming Jan. 26 at Madison Square Garden as double-digit favorites against Illinois, the Terps are looking to right the ship when they take the floor in front of their home crowd against the Wildcats Tuesday night.

“We’re just glad to be home,” Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon said. “We’ve been a good home team in the league, so we’re confident at home. We look forward to being at home. Hopefully we’ll have the students back and it will be a great turnout. We’ll be ready to play.”

The Terps had a long, reflective bus ride back from New York following their upset loss to the Fighting Illini, but after some time to get away from basketball and volunteer with the Special Olympics the day following the defeat before getting back to practice Monday, Turgeon feels as though he and his team are recharged and ready for Northwestern on Tuesday.

“We were down,” Turgeon said. “This is as down as we’ve been. I said when we got off the bus that we have to leave it here, we have to come back Sunday, we’ve got to put it behind us, and the Special Olympics helped us do that. But we’re 16-5 and 7-3 in the best conference in the country, so we know what lies ahead. We’re halfway through it and we have to play well. But we’re in good position. I thought we were in great position and now we’re in good position. We just have to get back to playing well. The kids are resilient. It will be good to be home. We haven’t been home much. Students are back. We’re expecting a great crowd, so hopefully that will motivate us as well.

“It’s easy for [the players] because they're kids. They’re resilient. They were worried about what they were going to have when they got off the bus for dinner. I think coaches take it a lot harder. It’s our livelihood. So it was me that I was worried about. So I was more talking to myself. But I went to church, Special Olympics, had a good day, smiled a lot, and spent time with the family and now we’ll get back to work [Monday] and get ready for Northwestern.”

Part of the Terps’ quest to get back on track includes cleaning up their play at the end of games, which was an issue that hadn’t surfaced for Maryland throughout the month of January until Saturday’s 11-point loss to Illinois.

But Turgeon also knows that his team will have to come to ready to play hard against the Wildcats from the get-go Tuesday if the Terps want to be in a position to hold onto a lead at the end of the game.

“When the game was on the line, we didn’t play with poise,” Turgeon said. “We had been doing that and we didn’t do it in the Illinois game. There were a lot of factors that went into that but we just have to be better late in the game than we were in that game. We’re going to concentrate on Northwestern and try to do our best because I think they’re an exceptional team, really well-coached. [Chris Collins] has got some really good seniors and some really good players. So we have to concentrate on that and get ourselves right and ready to play.”

One of Northwestern’s most effective playmakers is 6-foot-8 senior Derek Pardon, who leads the Wildcats with 7.8 rebounds per game and is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.9 points this season while shooting over 61 percent from the field.

Luckily for Maryland, defending the low post has been a strength for the Terps all year thanks to the stellar play of sophomore center Bruno Fernando as well as freshmen forwards Jalen “Stix” Smith and Ricky Lindo Jr. But when it comes to guarding a dominant post player like Pardon, expect the Terps to use a multi-pronged approach.

“[Pardon] is a really good low-post player,” Turgeon said. “He plays so hard and he’s a great rebounder. Right shoulder, left hook; it’s tough. So we’re going to have to do it by committee. Bruno [Fernando] and Stix [Smith] will have him a lot. Ivan Bender will have him some. But there will be some other ways hopefully we can help on him. And what makes him good is he has really good players around him, good shooters around him. He’s a terrific player who has had a great career. I saw him coming out of high school and he poses a challenge. Bruno did a nice job the other day defensively. He’s going to have to step up and do it again tomorrow.”

The Terps will also have to be mindful of Wildcats senior forward Vic Law, who leads his team in scoring with 15.8 points per game and is second in rebounding, averaging 6.8 this season, as well as senior guard Ryan Taylor, who’s having a strong year with 12 points per game so far after transferring from Ohio University this offseason.

Northwestern is a defensive-minded team that likes to play at a grinding pace. The Terps should have the advantage in size and athleticism, but will have to avoid the sloppy play that helped lead to 21 turnovers and a loss to Illinois over the weekend.

The Wildcats have one of the best perimeter defenses in the country, ranking 11th in defensive three-point percentage (28.8). So keeping Fernando out of foul trouble and on the floor so that he can be continuously fed down low will be a key to Maryland getting back to its winning ways on Tuesday night.

Tip-off in College Park between Maryland and Northwestern is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.