COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- After going 2-0 last week and moving up seven spots in the AP Poll, No. 17 Maryland (21-7, 12-5 Big Ten) heads to University Park Feb. 27 for its final Big Ten road game of the regular season against a Penn State (11-16, 4-12) team the Terps defeated by seven in College Park to open up conference play back in December.

But even though the Terps had little issue with the Nittany Lions in their first matchup, Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon is urging his squad to be on guard Wednesday against Penn State, which has won four of its last six games, including an upset victory against Michigan at the Bryce Jordan Center just a few weeks ago.

“I think Penn State has our full attention,” Turgeon said. “They've won four of six and two in a row. It could’ve been three in a row, but there was a [bad call] late in the game against Purdue. They’re a good team, good players, they play tough and Lamar Stevens, no one seems to be able to guard them. It’s another tough road game in the Big Ten. We’ve got to play better there than we have been the last couple years to have a chance to win. I think this is one of their better teams. Transition defense is huge tomorrow for us. They really run at home. We’ve got to get back. We’re going to be tested.”

Transition defense is one of several areas where Maryland has shown great improvement recently, and the Terps are feeling good about where they’re currently at as a team, winning five of their last seven, including two victories within the conference on the road.

“We’re very confident and we’re getting better in our half-court offense,” Turgeon said. “Our transition defense has gotten better. We decided to rebound again. A lot of phases are coming together, we just have to be more consistent with it. It’s been an amazing year to this point, we continue to do great things, but we have three games left. We’re going to lock in on Penn State and try to do better in those things defensively we’ve talked about. The one thing bothering us with our offense [turnovers], if we can correct that, we’ll be really good.”

Despite their recent success, the Terps are still being careless with the ball at times, which has led to a surplus of turnovers.

Maryland has had 16 or more turnovers in its last three outings but has still managed to come away with two wins during that stretch. However, Turgeon knows his team is playing with fire and needs to get its turnovers woes corrected as soon as possible.

“They know,” Turgeon said. “We talk about it. They’re as frustrated as I am with it. But we’re still figuring out ways to win and win comfortably. But we can’t continue to do that. And the guys understand that.”

Perhaps one reason the Terps turned the ball over more than they’d like in their last game--a 10-point win at home over Ohio State--was because of the absence of starting freshman guard Eric Ayala, who started the game on the floor for Maryland but was quickly pulled because of an illness.

But reports on Ayala’s healthy coming out of College Park are positive this week and he should be back in Maryland’s starting lineup against the Nittany Lions on Wednesday night.

“Eric's doing great,” Turgeon said. “He's healthy, he's had two good practices. He's ready to go.”

While Maryland’s backcourt will be fully intact against Penn State, it’s part of its frontcourt that has become a growing concern of late.

Freshman forward Jalen “Stix” Smith has struggled recently, failing to score more than eight points or collect more than five rebounds in each of Maryland’s last three games. But Turgeon isn’t concerned about the former McDonald’s All-American, who is still third on the team with 11.3 points per game and second with 6.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks.

Smith exceeded his season averages by posting 16 points and eight rebounds in Maryland’s first meeting with Penn State this season, and Wednesday presents a good opportunity for the 6-foot-10 freshman to get back on track so he can finish the regular season strong.

“Jalen Smith is important to us every game,” Turgeon said. “The last two games probably haven’t gone how he would have liked, but I’m not concerned about it. He’s really practiced well and we have to keep him involved. I just want him to concentrate on defense and rebounding. That’s really where he’s improved the most and done a great job for us. He’s probably going to start [Wednesday] night. It’s a big-time matchup for him. He’s important and he’s got to figure out ways to score. And it [can’t be just] jump shots. It’s getting to the foul line, offensive rebounds, and we’ll be posting him up a little more. But it’s been a good two days for Stix.

“I think when Stix plays well we’re good. As a coach, you don’t know who’s going to show up and who’s not. I want all our guys to play well. We’ll continue to work hard, continue to get better. But let’s not make too much of the Stix deal. He’s been pretty good, pretty consistent for us. He’s going to help us a lot down the stretch.”

Smith will shoulder a large portion of the responsibility of covering Nittany Lions’ leading scorer and rebounder Lamar Stevens, who averages 19.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Stevens was right in that range when he played in College Park earlier this season, scoring 19 points and eight rebounds in the loss to the Terps.

Tip-off in University Park between Penn State and No. 17 Maryland is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.