Terps seeking first 'signature' win in Big Ten play at Nebraska

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- In its last time out, Maryland (17-10, 6-8 Big Ten) came away with a double-digit victory at home against Northwestern, as the Terps offense continued to roll and their defense awakened for the first time in weeks. But for as complete of a game as Mark Turgeon’s team played Feb. 10, the Terps are not viewing it as a “signature win” for their résumé.

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“I don’t think so,” Terps sophomore wing Kevin Huerter said. “A signature win for us I think would be on the road against a team in the top tier in the league...It was a good home win but I don’t think we can call it a signature win yet.”

Perhaps Huerter was doing a bit of foreshadowing because an opportunity to get the type of win he was describing awaits the Terps Feb. 13 when they travel to Lincoln to take on Nebraska (19-8, 10-4), which currently sits at fourth in the Big Ten conference and is riding a five-game winning streak.

Although January was a rough month for Maryland on the road, Huerter and his teammates are coming off of a 16-point win in College Park in which seven different Terps scored points, including four in double figures.

“We had a bunch of guys contribute and we have a lot of guys who are confident so I think that’s going to be good moving forward,” Huerter said.

With 16 assists on 27 buckets against the Wildcats, the Terps offense moved the ball well and used their offensively game plan to help them get back on track defensively.

“I think our guys are starting to realize that they can use [ball movement] as a weapon to kind of wear the other team down a little bit, especially on the road it can keep us in games a little bit,” Turgeon said Feb. 12.

While Maryland’s offense certainly hasn’t been the root of its problem, it very well might be the solution for Turgeon and his team. After a 91-69 loss on the road to Ohio State Jan. 11, Turgeon implemented a new, perimeter, pass-oriented offense that has helped the Terps get open looks for their starting backcourt--Huerter and fellow sophomore Anthony Cowan Jr.

“It was just trying to create stuff you couldn’t scout as much,” Turgeon said. “It’s been great. I was wary to do it but I felt I had to do it and it has actually been better than I thought it was going to be. So it has been good for us.”

But with the third-best 3-point percentage in the conference and fourth-best field goal percentage, the Terps know that it’s the other end of the floor that they need to continue to focus on so that they can duplicate their performance on Saturday when they held Northwestern to 33 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent from downtown.

“Offense hasn’t been a problem for us the last couple of games; it has been the defensive end,” Huerter said.

Part of Maryland’s resurgence defensively must come from 6-foot-10 freshman Bruno Fernando, who despite just two points and three rebounds, came away with three blocks against the Wildcats.

Having senior center Michal Cekovsky back in the lineup after a three-game absence also helped aid Maryland’s efforts defensively. But with Cekovsky sidelined for a few games, Turgeon said he has seen considerable growth in his rookie from Angola.

“I think [Fernando] has gotten better in all phases,” Turgeon said. “He has really improved. He’s coming quickly, which is great to see…Considering all of the injuries he has had and the sickness, he seems to be doing pretty well.

The Terps will need Cekovsky and Fernando to stay out of foul trouble and be at their best on Tuesday night against the Cornhuskers to stop Nebraska’s talented junior big Isaac Copeland. Copeland is the second-leading scorer (13.0 ppg) for his team and top rebounder (6.1 rpg). He’s a stretch-forward who can step out and knock down 3-pointers, but he can also bang down low and averages more than a block per game.

Maryland will also have its hands full with Nebraska wing and leading scorer (17.6 ppg) James Palmer Jr., as well as stat-stuffing point guard Glynn Watson Jr., who’s averaging 11.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game this season.

But coming off perhaps their best all-around performance of the season, the Terps are feeling good about their chances to end their six-game road losing streak because they’ve now seen their potential.

“It is a good feeling because it feels like we finally put together a complete game,” Huerter said. “It feels like we played pretty well for the most part and won both halves...But we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. We’ve got a lot to go. But it just finally feels good that when we play well for the whole game we got a pretty easy victory in the end.”

Tip-off in Lincoln between Maryland and Nebraska is set for 7:00 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.