The Maryland Terrapins are set to take on the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday night in a matchup of two of the top Big Ten contenders. Maryland comes into the game at 17-2 (6-1) and ranked seventh in the nation while Michigan State comes in at 16-4 (3-4) and ranked 11th in the nation. These two teams were the preseason favorites to win the Big Ten but as of right now neither is in first place, that distinction blongs to Indiana and Iowa who are both 6-0 so far.
Maryland comes into this game having won two straight games since their first Big Ten loss to Michigan. The first game after the loss at Michigan, the Terrapins took out their anger on Ohio State in a 35 point victory. The Terrapins only other loss this season was to North Carolina in the BIg Ten/ACC challenge but for the most part they have looked like NCAA Championship contenders so far.
When you talk about Maryland the first player that comes up is sophomore guard Melo Trimble. Trimble leads the team with his 13.9 points and 5.7 assists per game and typically when he plays well the team plays well. Trimble has been up and down in Big Ten play so far this season but he is coming off an 18 point, 6 assist performance against Northwestern on Tuesday and will look for some consistency moving forward.
While Trimble is the most important player on the Terps, Diamond Stone is a guy to keep your eye on as the freshman has been playing great lately. Stone is second on the team with his 13.5 points per game and that is coming in only 20.4 minutes per game. Stone didn't have a big impact early in the season but he has scored in double figures in each of his last 12 games, including three double-doubles in Big Ten play.
While Maryland has been consistently good all season, Michigan State was like that until recently. The Spartans won their first 13 games of the season before losing Denzel Valentine and eventually losing a game to Iowa. Valentine came back and it seemed like Michigan State would get back on track but they come into this one having lost three games in a row including a bad home loss to Nebraska on Wednesday.
Valentine is the guy for the Spartans as he leads them in points (18.3 per game) and assists (6.6 per game) and isn't far behind in rebounds with 7.6 per game. Valentine was the early frontrunner for the Player of the Year award in the whole country until he hurt his knee but he has been back for four games and has played well despite the teams struggles. Valentine has scored 23 and 24 points respectively in the last two games and the Spartans will need another big game from him on Saturday.
While Valentine does everything for Michigan State another important player is freshman Deyonta Davis. Davis doesn't play big minutes but he has started to make a big impact recently. In Michigan State's last game against Nebraska Davis played a career high 29 minutes and put together his best game in Big Ten play as he scored 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. On the season the freshman is averaging two blocks per game and Davis' continued growth is a big key to Michigan State's success this season.
Maryland played their first ever Big Ten game in East Lansing against the Spartans, a game in which they won in overtime back in 2014. This is an important game for both sides as Michigan State looks to avoid a four game losing streak for the first time since 2007 and Maryland looks to get back to playing like the elite team they know they can be.
The game is scheduled to tip off at 6:30 P.M. Eastern time on ESPN and to watch the live broadcast go here. For the Maryland radio broadcast go here and for the Michigan State radio broadcast go here.
