Preview: No. 6 Iowa WBB at No. 7 Maryland

WHO: #7 Maryland Terrapins (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten)
WHEN: 7:00 PM CT
WHERE: XFINITY Center (College Park, MD)
TV: BTN (Mike Hall and Stephanie White)
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network (Rob Brooks and Jaime Cavey Lang) | XM TBD or SXM TBD
MOBILE: www.foxsports.com/mobile
ONLINE: www.foxsports.com/live
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome | @IowaWBB | @IowaonBTN

#6 Iowa vs. #7 Maryland. Iowa must win this game to maintain hope of winning a share of the Big Ten regular season title. The game will also be significant for NCAA Tournament purposes. Both teams are projected as 2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament by ESPN. Both will want to avoid being in the same bracket as undefeated #1 overall South Carolina. For Iowa, a 1 seed might still be possible with a big end of season run.

Given the ramifications, it’s fair to say that it is one of the biggest games in Iowa women’s basketball history — and also not Iowa’s biggest game of the week. That comes on Sunday when #2 Indiana and College GameDay visit Iowa City.

Frankly, I think this is a 50/50 game at best for Iowa. Not sure I’ve ever said that about an opponent Iowa led by 20 and beat by 14 in a first matchup. But a lot of things went right for Iowa and wrong for Maryland in that first game that may not happen again. Iowa will also need to win in a location -- College Park, MD -- they've never won before; the Hawkeyes are 0-5 in their previous trips to the XFINITY Center.

Caitlin Clark, Monika Czinano, and Hannah Stuelke all had some of the best games of their respective careers against Maryland a few weeks ago. Clark shot 13/19 (68%) from the floor and had 42 points and 8 assists. Czinano was 14/18 (77.7%) from the floor and had 28 points and 6 rebounds. Stuelke chipped in 13 points and was a perfect 5/5 from the floor.

Maryland’s defense didn’t look capable of stopping any of that trio in the first game, so it’s certainly possible for any of them have another big game offensively this time. That said, Iowa would be lucky if any match their first game totals; they were all spectacular and played well above expectations that day.

Iowa was also aided somewhat by a heavy dose of whistles against the Terrapins. Maryland star Diamond Miller was in foul trouble most of the game (finishing with 32 minutes played, just fourth-best for Maryland that day) and was one of six Terrapins who ended the game with four fouls. Iowa should try to replicate that pressure by drawing more calls; Maryland is just 5-4 in games where Miller commits at least four personal fouls.

Finally, Maryland shot just 2/18 (11%) as a team from three in the game. Some of that was a result of Iowa giving jumpers to Maryland’s worst shooters, but not all of it; even the worst shooters in college basketball shoot much better than 11% from three. Iowa shouldn’t expect another shooting performance that poor from Maryland, especially at home.

If Maryland shoots better, Iowa shoots a little worse, and Maryland’s best players stay out of foul trouble, this game will be a lot more competitive.

Diamond Miller -- 20.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.0 spg, 54.5% from 2, 22.2% from 3.

In the first game, Miller led Maryland with 27 points. She shot 8/17 from the field and 11/15 from the line. Miller is an extremely athletic wing that will likely be drafted in the top 5 of this year’s WNBA draft. Iowa had no real answer for her drives to the rim in the first game, and I doubt the Hawks will be able to stop her this time. Last game, Iowa benefited from Miller getting into foul trouble throughout the game, so her fouls will be something to monitor in this one. Miller is also struggling to shoot from distance this year, so Iowa will likely give her room on defense and try to encourage her to shoot jumpers. It will be interesting to see if she settles for those or if she continues attacking the basket.

Shyanne Sellers -- 14.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.9 spg, 54.1% from 2, 37.3% from 3.

In the first game, Sellers was nearly as unstoppable as Miller, scoring 26 points on 10-17 shooting. Like Miller, Sellers likes to attack the basket off the dribble, and like Miller Iowa had no real answer for her in the first game. Sellers contributes well for Maryland on both ends of the court, but against Iowa she looked like a star offensively. It will be interesting to see if she has another big game on offense, or if she reverts more towards her season average.

Abby Meyers -- 14.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.7 spg, 46.9% from 2, 37.7% from 3.

Meyers might be the X-factor for Maryland’s offense. In the first game, Iowa largely played off of Meyers and let her shoot open jumpers. Meyers has been a good shooter all season, but struggled against Iowa, shooting 2/8 from 3 and 3/9 from 2. If Meyers shoots poorly for a second-straight game, Iowa can devote more defensive resources to Sellers and Miller. If she shoots well, Iowa will have to guard her close and won't be able to clog driving lanes as easily.

More balanced scoring. In the first Maryland matchup, Clark, Czinano, and Stuelke outscored the Terps by themselves, scoring 83 of Iowa’s 96 points. Maryland will certainly have a game plan for how to better slow each of them down. I don’t think Maryland can stop any of them, but just slowing them down a bit might be enough.

That’s where Iowa’s other options need to come in. If Maryland devotes more resources to stopping Clark, Czinano, and Stuelke that should leave plenty of open shots for Gabbie Marshall, McKenna Warnock, Kate Martin, and Molly Davis. They need to be ready to hit those shots. If they can, Iowa will be in good shape even if Clark and Czinano aren’t as dominant.