The Maryland men’s basketball team dropped three spots from No. 4 to No. 7 in the Associated Press poll released Dec. 16 after losing, 76-69, at Penn State Dec. 10.
Kansas (9-1) tops the AP poll, followed by Gonzaga (11-1) and Louisville (10-1). Ohio State (9-1) is the highest-rated Big Ten team at No. 5.
In the NCAA’s first NET rankings of the year, Maryland came in at No. 11.
The Terps entered their game against the Nittany Lions as one of the few unbeaten teams remaining in Division I, but a lackluster 40 minutes led to their first loss of the season. Maryland fell behind, 20-10, early in the contest and never quite caught up; 20 turnovers didn’t help the Terps’ cause, either.
Senior Anthony Cowan Jr. (16 points) and sophomores Eric Ayala (15), Aaron Wiggins (13) and Jalen Smith (12) all contributed, but the Terps shot 33.3 percent from the field as a team.
Next up for Maryland is unranked Seton Hall, which entered the season as the favorites in the Big East but have started the season 6-4 and are currently on a two-game losing streak. The Pirates will be without Big East Preseason Player of the Year Myles Powell (concussion) and junior forward Sandro Mamukelashvili (broken wrist) when they take on the Terps.
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