There’s less than two weeks left in Maryland men’s basketball’s 2025-26 regular season. It’s been a long one, but the Terps have finally picked up something resembling momentum down the stretch.
Maryland has won three of its last five games. Most years, that’s a common occurrence. If anything, it’s not good enough. But with the season the Terps have gone through in year one of Buzz Williams, three wins in five games once felt impossible. With Andre Mills coming into his own and Williams showing he can build a resilient culture, there’s hope for the future.
But any hopes for a true late-season revival face a daunting task Wednesday, when the Terps travel to Omaha for a bout with No. 12 Nebraska. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m ET, and the game will air on Big Ten Network.
No. 12 Nebraska Cornhuskers (23-4, 12-4 Big Ten)
2024-25 record: 21-14, 7-13 Big Ten
Nebraska is a massive college sports brand, but not in basketball. It’s been to March Madness twice this century and is the only power conference team to never win a game in the NCAA Tournament. But the long-term plans head coach Fred Hoiberg had when he took over in 2019 are finally coming to fruition.
The Cornhuskers earned a No. 8 seed in March 2024, their highest since 1994. 2024-25 was a step back, but they still emerged as the champions of the inaugural College Basketball Crown invitational tournament.
Everything clicked until the end of January this season, though. Literally everything. Nebraska won its first 20 games, reaching as high as No. 5 in the Associated Press poll. But it then hit a bit of a skid, dropping four of seven games — all losses against opponents of a much higher quality than Maryland.
The Cornhuskers rotation is chock-full of length and chock-full of shooters. They’ll be the toughest test Maryland has faced in weeks.
Players to know
Pryce Sandfort, junior forward, 6-foot-7, No. 21 — Sandfort didn’t carry super high expectations when he transferred across the conference from Iowa. But he’s the catalyst for Nebraska’s explosion this season. His Big Ten-high 41.0% 3-point percentage is on nearly nine attempts beyond the arc per game — that’s led to Sandfort racking up 17.9 points a contest.
Rienk Mast, senior forward, 6-foot-10, No. 51 — Mast has been a part of college basketball since 2019. By virtue, his age and size should make him an unstoppable force. But a knee injury kept him out of the entire 2024-25 season, and Mast has hit a bit of a plateau in improvement.
Nonetheless, the Dutchman does a little of everything for Nebraska. He averages 13.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, and makes a respectable 32.3% of his 3-pointers.
Sam Hoiberg, senior guard, 6-foot-0, No. 1 — Hoiberg waited his turn for four years, largely on the bench. But now he’s an instrumental factor in Nebraska’s success. As the primary playmaker, he’s got 4.6 assists per game But Hoiberg’s biggest value comes on defense. He leads the team with 2.1 steals per game and leads the Big Ten in defensive win share — and even at his size, notches 5.3 boards per game.
Strength
Defense. Nebraska doesn’t have outlier size like much of the Big Ten. But outside of Hoiberg — who is a sensational defender — everyone has plus length. It’s extremely hard to get the ball into the paint against the Huskers, and they’re suffocating contesting jumpshots. A juggernaut of fundamental defense has them allowing 65.6 points per game, 15th fewest in the nation.
Weakness
Offensive rebounding. There’s not a lot Nebraska does poorly, but offensive rebounding is as glaring of a weakness as it gets. Much of that is due to spaced-out offense and heavy loads of 3-point shooting, but nonetheless, 8.5 offensive boards a game is the fewest in the Big Ten.
Three things to watch
1. How does Maryland fare against the 3-ball? Nebraska’s shot diet resembles the NBA more than most college teams — it shoots more 3-pointers (30.4) than 2-pointers (29.0) per game. Defending beyond the arc is an inconsistent area for Maryland. More attention will certainly be given to perimeter defense — it hasn’t been in recent games — and it’ll be critical if the Terps want to be anything resembling competitive.
2. Has Del Pino earned a larger role? Poor showings from Darius Adams and Diggy Coit meant Guillermo Del Pino played a season-high 27 minutes Saturday. He wasn’t too much of a factor, but he also wasn’t a liability — notching two 3-pointers, three assists and the game-winning block.
This doesn’t change that Del Pino is simply not a Big Ten-caliber talent yet. But Williams may elect to play the hot hand, and he hasn’t shied away from his love for the Spaniard in press conferences.
3. Williams and Hoiberg meet again. The last time these two veteran coaches met was also Nebraska’s first NCAA Tournament game under Hoiberg. No. 9-seed Texas A&M, led by Williams, rolled to a 98-83 first-round victory over Hoiberg’s No. 8-seed Cornhuskers in March 2024.
None other than Solomon Washington excelled in that game. His four blocks against Nebraska are still his career high.