February 15, 2026; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Andre Mills (7) dribbles against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the first half at Jersey Mike’s Arena. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Rutgers and Maryland were two of the four teams entering the weekend tied for last place in the Big Ten.
And that’s a point both want to avoid at the end of the season. The bottom four teams in the conference standings at the end of the regular season advance to the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament. With two wins, Penn State has already secured one of those spots.
The Scarlet Knights and Terrapins have identical records (11-17, 4-13) in their meeting Sunday afternoon in College Park, Maryland. One of the teams could take a big step toward avoiding the opening round in Chicago.
It will be a difficult task for either team to win their first Big Ten tournament title. But opening up in the first round and playing six games in a matter of days would be that much more difficult.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said after Tuesday’s 79-72 loss to Washington at home.
Pikiell believed his team was heading in the right direction two weeks ago when it beat Maryland 68-57 and then won 85-72 at Penn State.
But in losses at Minnesota and Washington, Rutgers surrendered 54.7% of its shots overall and 48.9% from deep.
“A few weeks ago we were moving in an unbelievable direction, the way we defended, the way we connected,” Pikiell said. “We have to go back.”
With their starters shooting just 26.7 percent against Washington, the Scarlet Knights got a boost from the bench as Lino Mark and Darren Buchanan Jr. delivered 18 and 17 points, respectively.
It’s a career high for Mark, a freshman who has made 17 of 22 shots (77.3%) over the past three games.
Maryland has won three of its last six games under Andre Mills. In February, the freshman averaged 19.1 points per game on 50 percent shooting overall and 43.8 percent from long range.
Mills averaged 7.3 points on 36.7% shooting from the field and 33.3% from deep in seven games in January.
“We’ve had a good month,” Maryland coach Buzz Williams said after Wednesday’s 74-61 loss to No. 12 Nebraska. “We know outcomes need to improve.”
In the first meeting between Maryland and Rutgers on February 15, Tariq Francis led the Scarlet Knights in scoring with 21 points in a 68-57 win. Mills got a 9.
– Field level media
