Baskets at a premium when Maryland, Northwestern collide

Field Level Media|published: Tue 17th February, 19:46 2026

Feb 14, 2026; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Northwestern Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli (2) looks to pass during the second half against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

For those tuning in on Wednesday when Maryland faces Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., viewer discretion is advised.

The game features the Terrapins (10-15, 3-11 Big Ten), who have the worst field goal percentage in the conference at 40.8%, against the Wildcats (10-16, 2-13), who possess the worst 3-point accuracy in the league at 31.1%.

The shooting struggles have been particularly frustrating for Northwestern, which has lost eight games against power-conference foes by seven points or fewer.

"We're just not a very good shooting team," coach Chris Collins said after a 68-49 loss Saturday at then-No. 7 Nebraska. "When we get them in rotation, we don't have very confident shooters right now, which makes it hard."

Despite the final score, the loss to the Cornhuskers was another one that got away for the Wildcats as they held the lead with 12:32 left before being outscored 30-10 the rest of the way. Northwestern also led top-ranked Michigan by 16 points with 14:22 left on Feb. 11, yet got outscored 45-17 the rest of the way.

The Wildcats boast the Big Ten's leading scorer in Nick Martinelli (22.1 points per game), who also serves as their top long-distance threat at 43.0% from beyond the arc.

During its current five-game losing streak, Northwestern has made 26 of 98 (26.5%) of its shots from deep.

Maryland has won two of its last three, but lapsed into another dismal offensive performance Sunday in a 68-57 loss at Rutgers.

The Terrapins shot 33.3% from the floor and went 7 of 30 (23.3%) from long range. They also hurt their chances with a 6-for-13 (46.2%) performance at the free-throw line.

"What I would say is 46 percent is poor, or a different adjective would probably be more accurate," coach Buzz Williams said. "But only shooting 13 free throws relative to our team, when the opponent shoots double that, that's hard math for us to overcome."

The Terrapins are dangerous when their top guns are firing. In their previous two wins, over Iowa and Minnesota, David Coit scored 48 points on 14-of-25 shooting (56%) from the floor, while Andre Mills put up 36 points on 14 of 22 (63.6%) marksmanship.

Against Rutgers, however, they combined for just 21 points as they made 8 of 33 shots (24.2%).

--Field Level Media