How to Watch Purdue's Game at Maryland on Tuesday; Gametime, TV, Point Spread

Purdue had a difficult travel day on Monday, and it's going to be interesting to see if it carries over into Tuesday night's game at Maryland.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – For the first time in a year and a half, Purdue is back in the national rankings. The Boilermakers are now ranked No. 24 in this week's Associated Press poll, and now the big question is how long can they stay there?

The first challenge comes Tuesday night with a difficult road test at Maryland, who despite their 9-8 record – just 3-7 in the Big Ten – are actually favored in this one.

Purdue has won five of its past six games, and have had nice moments in each of those wins, but they haven't been consistent for 40 minutes, something to be expected of a young team. Purdue has the youngest team in the Big Ten, and has relied heavily on its freshmen, four of whom who have already won league Freshmen of the Week honors.

This has already been a difficult trip for Purdue. Their chartered flight needed to be diverted back to Indianapolis because of mechanical issues, and they didn't arrive in Maryland until close to midnight. 

The charter plane holding Purdue men's basketball headed to face Maryland was diverted to Indianapolis mid-flight, @jconline first reported.

The same Republic flight is listed as "scheduled" from Indianapolis Int'l to land at BWI this evening, but has been repeatedly delayed. pic.twitter.com/pcy46lVv3N

— Wesley Brown (@W_Brown21) February 2, 2021

Here's everything you need to know about Purdue's game with Maryland on Tuesday night:

• Who: Purdue Boilermakers (12-6, 7-4 in the Big Ten) at Maryland Terrapins (9-8, 3-7 in the Big Ten)
• When: 6:30 p.m. ET, Tuesday, Feb. 2
• Where: Xfinity Center, College Park, Md.
• Latest Line: Maryland is favored by 1 point according to the DraftKings.com website as of 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
• Poll rankings: Purdue made it into the Associated Press top-25 poll this week for the first time since the preseason poll in 2019. The Boilermakers are ranked No. 24. They aren't ranked in the Coaches Poll, but would be No. 27. Maryland is not ranked. 
• Kenpom.com rankings: Purdue is ranked No. 24 in the Kenpom.com rankings, moving up five spots after the win over Minnesota last Saturday. Maryland is ranked No. 43.
• Last time out: Purdue got 29 points from freshman Brandon Newman and went on a tear in the second half to blow out then No. 21-ranked Minnesota 81-62 on Saturday night at Mackey Arena. Maryland lost to Wisconsin 61-55 on Saturday. The Terrapins shot just 35.8 percent from the field.
• Series history: Purdue leads the overall series, 6-4.
• Last meeting: Purdue won the last meeting on Christmas Day, winning 73-70. 
• TV: Big Ten Network
• Announcers: Dave Revsine and Jess Settles
• Radio: Purdue Radio Network
• Announcers: Rob Blackmon and Bobby Riddell

Here are three things I want to see from the Boilermakers in Tuesday night's game against the Maryland Terrapins:

1. Maintain that shooting touch

Purdue has played two games without Sasha Stefanovic, who is missing 17 days after testing positive for COVID-19. In three of those four halves against Michigan and then Minnesota, they were a combined 2-for-17 from three-point range, a putrid 11.7 percent.

But then they caught fire in the second half against Minnesota, making eight three-pointers that lead to an 81-62 rout after being behind by as many as 14 points in the first half. Redshirt freshman Brandon Newman had five of them, and all eight long balls were made by freshmen. That trend needs to continue Tuesday night against Maryland. The Terrapins are dead last in three-point percentage defense (35.4 percent).

2. Dominate the boards

Maryland is also last in the league in offensive rebounds, so Purdue needs to keep them limited to one shot per possession. Trevion Williams has been a double-double machine lately, and he had 17 and 14 against Minnesota and 14 points and 11 rebounds against Michigan. More of the same would be nice.

Williams is at his best when he's attracting double teams, and he's had some beautiful passes lately, too. But it's on the boards where he can take control, and there's a great opportunity for that to happen again Tuesday. As always, he needs to stay out of early foul trouble and stay engaged from start to finish.

3. Don't let travel woes diminish energy

Thankfully, the Boilermakers arrived in Maryland safe and sound after their original charter plane had mechanical issues, but they didn't get to their hotel until close to midnight.

A full day of sitting and waiting is never good, not to mention all the anxiety over travel issues. But when it comes for the reason behind the trip – the game itself – the Boilers need to come out with a lot of energy right from the first whistle. Maryland has had some nice moments this season – including wins at Illinois and Minnesota – so Purdue needs to play well in this one right from the get-go. They've lost their last two games at the Xfinity Center, and that streak needs to end.