The Terps look to continue there winning ways this weekend as Maryland takes its 5-game winning streak on the road this Sunday Dec 8 at noon on Fox Sports to take on #13 Purdue in a Big 10 conference matchup.

Maryland (8-1, 1-0) is coming off a historic game against Ohio State, as the Terps took care of business defeating the Buckeyes 83-59 in College Park in convincing fashion.

Program Records Set:

• The Terps led at halftime by a score of 50-17, which was the most points in a Big 10 regular game in program history.
• The 33 point difference was the largest ever in Big 10 play.
• The 33 point difference also tied the largest Big 10 lead in any conference game for any team since the 1996-1997 season.

Maryland will be playing in their second conference game of the year and first true conference road game against a reeling Boilermaker (7-2, 0-1) team.

So here are my keys to a Maryland victory.

First, on the offensive side of the ball, it is the same formula as it was against Ohio State, in that they must hit some open 3’s as they proved they can do against Ohio State.

They must also have a fast start in a hostile environment that is Mackey Arena as the Terps have several transfers and freshmen that have not played in an environment like they will be playing in.

The key to victory on the defensive side of the ball is that Maryland is 10th in the Country in scoring defense at 58.7 PPG and will be looking to stop a Purdue team that moves the ball around and hits the 3’s. Purdue is 7th in the country in 3-point shooting percentage at 42.14% led by Fletcher Loyer (.586%), Camden Heide (.550%) and leading scorer Trey Kaufman-Renn (.500%).

That pesky Maryland defense will also have to continue there defensive calling card in creating turnovers and putting defensive pressure on Purdue, as it seems Purdue has trouble against teams that employ pressure defenses as was demonstrated Thursday night against Penn State where Purdue had 24 turnovers.

The biggest key to this game will be Maryland not having a big let down after having perhaps the best first half in a lifetime. The Terps might have let off the gas a little bit in the second half against Ohio State, but there was no doubt what the outcome was going to be.

If the Terps play Maryland defense, cause turnovers, stop Purdue behind the 3 point line, hit a few open 3’s, and they should move to 2-0 in conference play.

Prediction: Maryland 79 – Purdue 72