#4 MARYLAND VS #12 FGCU: NCAA TOURNAMENT 2ND ROUND PREVIEW

College Park, MD- #12 FGCU (30-2) faces #4 Maryland (22-8) in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament, Sunday afternoon at 3 PM from the Xfinity Center.

Stats (#12 FGCU):

The Eagles average 78.5 ppg, shoot 44.0% (902/2051) from the field, 33.0% (382/1158) from beyond the arc. FGCU averages.34.8 team rebounds per game. The Eagles dish out 17.8 assists, 10.0 steals, and 3.1 blocks per game. FGCU averages 11.1 team turnovers per game.

Stats (#4 UM):

The Terrapins average 78.4 ppg, shoot 44.0% (872/1984) from the field, and 36.2% (205/566) from beyond the arc. Maryland averages 39.2 team rebounds per game. The Terrapins dish out 15.7 assists, 9.2 steals, and 3.2 blocks per game. Maryland averages 12.9 team turnovers per game.

Players To Watch For (#12 FGCU):

6’1 JR G Kierstan Bell 23.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg

5’3 SR G TK Morehouse 14.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg

5’7 GR G Kendall Spray 11.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg

Players To Watch For (#4 UM):

6’3 SO F/G Angel Reese 17.4 ppg, 10.2 rpg

6’0 JR G Ashley Owusu 14.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg

6’3 JR G Diamond Miller 12.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg

Overview:

The #12 Eagles head into this second round NCAA Tournament game after a thrilling 84-81 win vs #5 Virginia Tech Friday afternoon. The #4 Terrapins defeated #13 Delaware, 102-71, and were led offensively by Ashley Owusu, who scored 24 points. Head Coach Brenda Frese, has led the Terrapins the last twenty years in College Park. Maryland is a member of the Big 10 Conference, and lost to #14 Indiana University in the first round of the Big 10 tournament. #4 seed Maryland has 5 Players averaging 10.0 ppg or more on their roster. 6’3 SO F/C Angel Reese leads the Terrapins offensively, averaging 17.4 ppg.

FGCU is led offensively by 6’1 JR G Kierstan Bell, who averages 23.2 ppg. Head Coach Karl Smesko is looking to advance to the Sweet 16 with a win over the Terrapins. The matchup to watch for the Eagles, will once again be Kierstan guarding the highest scoring and tallest Maryland player: 6’3 Angel Reese. The Eagles need to keep Bell out of foul trouble, in a game vs a Terrapins team, that has 5 players that are 6’2 or taller. Defending the Eagles from beyond the arc will be the key to victory for Maryland. The Eagles made 15 3 point field goals vs #5 Virginia Tech, and shooting well from beyond the arc will benefit the Eagles against another deep team depthwise in Maryland.