Syracuse (5-0) faces its toughest challenge of the young season when it plays Maryland (6-1) Monday night in the Carrier Dome as part of the Big 10/ACC challenge. The Orange is coming off a 72-64 win over Toledo on Wednesday, while the Terrapins most recently beat New Mexico, 80-65, on Saturday.

Here’s what to know about UMD.

All-time series: Maryland leads, 5-3

Last time they met: Syracuse beat Maryland, 57-55, on Feb. 24, 2014. That win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Orange after it had started the year 25-0. Tyler Ennis (20 points) and C.J. Fair (17 points) led the Orange, while the Terps top scorers were Seth Allen (22 points) and Dez Sells (15 points).

The Maryland report: The first thing that jumps out about Maryland is that it has already played seven games. Like SU, the Terrapins are a young team with the three sophomores leading the team in minutes per game.

UMD is a balanced team, ranking 54th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 30th in adjusted defensive efficiency, per Kenpom.com. Maryland’s best win was a 79-65 triumph over Butler, but it also lost a game to St. Bonaventure in which it shot just 5-of-23 from deep.

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Maryland scores in a variety of ways, and excels at drawing fouls, getting 24 percent of its scoring from the free throw line, per Kenpom. UMD also succeeds at getting second-chance opportunities, ranking as the second-best team in the country in offensive rebounding percentage (the Orange ranks third).

The one weakness for the Terrapins is turnovers. They’ve averaged a whopping 17.1 turnovers per game. About one of every four possessions for the Terps ends in a turnover, per Kenpom, a mark that ranks near the bottom of the country. On the other side, they’ve only forced opponents — which have included lower-level opponents like Maryland Eastern Shore and Jackson St. — to just 11.6.

How Syracuse wins the game: Get more possessions. That means continuing to secure offensive rebounds while preventing Maryland from doing the same. It also means forcing UMD into turnovers. It might be a sloppy game between two young teams, and getting extra chances to score will be key for SU.

Kenpom odds: Kenpom gives Syracuse a 54 percent chance to win.

Stat to know: 50.5

More than half of Syracuse’s possessions have been ended by one of either of the starting guards, Tyus Battle and Frank Howard.

Player to watch: Anthony Cowan, guard, No. 1

Cowan leads the Terps with 15.3 points per game, 33.3 minutes per game, and he’s shooting at a 49.1 percent mark. He’s lived at the free throw line this year, making 6.7 free throws a game this year. He does have weaknesses from deep (32 percent) and has 25 assists to 20 turnovers so far.

Published on November 26, 2017 at 11:53 pm

Contact Tomer: tdlanger@syr.edu | @tomer_langer