COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland (16-9, 5-7 Big Ten) has struggled on the road this season, especially in conference play, winning just one Big Ten road game so far. That lone road win against a league opponent came on Dec. 3, and it took the Terps two overtimes to beat an Illinois team that is currently only behind Rutgers in the Big Ten standings.

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Last season the Terps were 7-2 on the road in conference play. This year they’re 1-5 with three Big Ten road games remaining on the schedule. But head coach Mark Turgeon has seen his squad start to turn things around when playing outside of College Park.

Maryland has lost its last three conference road games by just 12 points combined, and the Terps are hoping to fully get the monkey of their back when they travel to Penn State (16-9, 6-6) to take on the Nittany Lions at the Bryce Jordan Center Feb. 7.

“We’re a different team,” Turgeon said Feb. 6. “We lost a couple of close ones early out there [on the road] and then we have played good teams. I do think we’ve been better on the road as we’ve been out there. But it’s hard out there and what we’ve been through makes it even more difficult. But we’re confident. We still believe because of what we did last year that we’re a good road team, even though it hasn’t produced the wins. But we feel like two of our last three road games we could have won and then you’d be looking at us a lot differently than you are right now. We’ve got three [road games] left and we’ll see how we do.”

Turgeon admitted that he has been “disappointed” by his team’s record on the road so far this season, but he added that he’s happy with the improvement and effort he has seen the Terps make in the face of adversity this year.

“I’m pleased,” Turgeon said. “My guys are giving me everything they’ve got. [Tuesday] we’re going to practice and they’re going to give me everything that they have. They’re dialed in on scouting reports, walkthroughs. They’re trying as hard as they can. So day-to-day I’m happy. Losing is no fun, but they’re giving me everything they’ve got.”

The Terps will have to be extra dialed into their scouting reports for their second matchup of the season against the Nittany Lions. That’s because Penn State boasts an impressive trio of sophomores that caused Maryland fits in their last meeting Jan 2. despite a six-point win in College Park by the home team.

Penn State plays a small lineup with 6-foot-9 sophomore Mike Watkins at center and 6-foot-8 sophomore Lamar Stevens at the four. The Nittany Lions frontcourt combined for 32 points and 19 rebounds in their last game against the Terps, with Watking accounting for 17 and 17.

As he continues to recover from a heel injury on his surgically repaired foot, Michal Cekovsky is still being called “day-to-day” by Turgeon. But Maryland is expected to be without the senior center for the third straight game, and without the 7-foot-1 Slovakia native, the Terps will likely have a much harder time stopping Watkins down low.

“[Watkins] is a good player,” Turgeon said. “I think he has a chance to play at the next level. What’d he have, like 17 [points] and 17 [rebounds] against us? I don’t know what else we can do. I think a lot of his were second-chance points, on the break, little things like that. I do think we’ve gotten a little bit better at post defense. We’re already down [Cekovsky] most likely, we’ll see what happens today and tomorrow. But hopefully we can have good team defense against him. But he has good players around him. Penn State has some good players. They have some guys who can shoot it and make plays. So we’ll see. We’ll do the best we can.”

With Cekovsky most likely out, more defensive weight falls on the shoulders of 6-foot-10 freshman Bruno Fernando, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double in his first-ever game against Penn State.

But with less depth behind Fernando and the possibility that he once again gets in foul trouble on the road--something that has been an issue for the Angola native so far this year--Terps sophomore wing Kevin Huerter believes Maryland will have to take a more creative approach to stopping versatile bigs like Watkins and Stevens.

“Stevens poses his own different problems,” Huerter said. “He’s almost that same role that Justin [Jackson] would have been. He’s kind of a three playing the four. He’s big, physical, strong; he’s athletic. So he’s a little bit different than other people in our league because it almost seems like he’s playing out of position too. But it’s the best position for his own team.

“We may have to find another answer for [Lamar] Stevens. For us playing a small lineup, we’re going to have to figure out ways we can guard them. But at the same time, they have to come guard us too. They’re a young team, a hungry team, kind of like us who’s trying to win games and get in the tournament, so they still have a lot to play for.”

While the Nittany Lions frontcourt lacks some size, Penn State’s backcourt actually features some bigger guards, most notable sophomore floor general Tony Carr.

Carr had a big first half against the Terps back in January, but Maryland locked up on him in the second half and forced him to shoot 6-for-23 for the game, something Turgeon is hoping his team can replicate in State College on Wednesday.

“When [Carr] misses a shot he doesn’t think about the miss he just shoots another one,” Turgeon said. “That’s just who he is. I recruited Tony [Carr] so I’ve known him. He’s a good player, very confident. He’s shooting the ball better from 3 this year but he also has a good mid-range game and good post-up game, and he’s a really good passer for them. So he’s a good player and you really have to be aware of him in ball screens and different things to do a good job on him. Hopefully he’ll shoot it like he did here and that would help us.”

Maryland is looking to build momentum off of its five-point win over Wisconsin on Super Bowl Sunday. And while the Terps have certainly dug themselves in a bit of a hole so far, Turgeon believes the heart his team continues to show could spark a late-season run.

“We want to finish strong,” Turgeon said. “We want to win every game. We’re going to practice to win every game; we’re going to prepare to win every game. But we’ll see what happens. They key is that we keep getting better and guys play well on game day and we just keep sticking together. If that happens, I think good things will happen.”

Tip-off in State College between Maryland and Penn State is set for 6:30 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.