Maryland, Iowa seek first conference win

Published Jan. 2, 2022 6:31 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Maryland (8-4, 0-1) vs. Iowa (10-3, 0-2)

Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa; Monday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Maryland meets Iowa as both teams look for its first Big Ten win of the season. Maryland beat Brown by 14 on Thursday. Iowa is coming off a 92-71 win over Western Illinois on Wednesday.

STEPPING UP: The rugged Keegan Murray has put up 21.8 points and 7.5 rebounds to lead the charge for the Hawkeyes. Kris Murray is also a key contributor, maintaining an average of 9.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. The Terrapins are led by Eric Ayala, who is averaging 14.9 points and 4.8 rebounds.ACCURATE AYALA: Ayala has connected on 31.2 percent of the 77 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 6 of 15 over the last three games. He's also made 70.2 percent of his free throws this season.

PERFECT WHEN: Maryland is a perfect 5-0 when the team records at least 13 offensive rebounds. The Terrapins are 3-4 this season when they fail to reach that mark.

PASSING FOR POINTS: The Hawkeyes have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Terrapins. Iowa has 57 assists on 101 field goals (56.4 percent) across its previous three games while Maryland has assists on 33 of 76 field goals (43.4 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: The Iowa offense has recorded a turnover on only 12.4 percent of its possessions, which is the third-best rate in the country. The Maryland defense has forced opposing teams to turn the ball over on just 16.7 percent of all possessions (ranked 309th among Division I teams).

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