Maryland basketball rises to No. 17 in AP Poll

After winning at Iowa and against Ohio State last week, Maryland basketball moved up seven spots to No. 17 in the AP Poll released Monday.

The Terps garnered 549 points, up from 211 last week, and their current ranking is their second-highest of the season (they were 13th the week of Jan. 21 but then lost to Michigan State and Illinois). Maryland is now 21-7 overall and 12-5 in the Big Ten, currently good for fourth place. The Terps are also No. 15 in KenPom and No. 21 in the NET rankings.

Maryland’s win at Iowa was its first road victory over a ranked opponent since 2008, while the Ohio State game was the Terps’ seventh double-digit conference win this season. Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 36 total points in the two wins, while Bruno Fernando shook off quiet first halves to post consecutive double-doubles. Those two are averaging 16.0 and 14.4 points per game, respectively, with Fernando chipping in 10.6 rebounds a night.

Michigan State is now the highest-ranked Big Ten team after winning at Michigan on Sunday. The Spartans check in at No. 6, while the Wolverines are No. 9. Purdue, which is 13-3 in league play and could ride a relatively easy schedule to the regular-season title, is No. 14. Wisconsin went 2-0 last week and is up to No. 19, while Iowa fell to 22nd after falling to Maryland and escaping Indiana.

Maryland visits Penn State on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET, then returns home for a highly anticipated matchup with No. 9 Michigan at 3:45 p.m. ET Sunday. That contest is already sold out.