Cancun Challenge Semifinals
Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya – Cancun, Mexico
Tip-off: Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. ET
Line: Maryland -10, Total: 137

No. 2 Maryland looks to advance to the finals of the Cancun Challenge when it takes on Illinois State of the Missouri Valley Conference on Tuesday night.

The Redbirds and their fourth-year head coach Dan Muller will not be fazed when they meet up with the second-ranked Terrapins, because they have to go up against what now is a national power in Wichita State every season in MVC conference play. As good as Wichita State has been for years now, Maryland will be the highest-ranking opponent that Illinois State has faced since playing Kansas in 2000. That said, the Terps (1-2 ATS) haven’t given any opponent reason to fear them yet, as they suffered two straight ATS defeats in a tight 75-71 win versus 9.5-point underdog Georgetown and had a world of trouble putting away 19.5-point underdog Rider last Friday in eking out a 65-58 victory. It’s most likely Maryland’s struggles against inferior competition that has this line where it is currently, as the Redbirds haven’t hit their stride either in 2015-16. Illinois State is 0-3 ATS, barely failing to cover +9.5 in a season-opening 71-60 loss versus San Diego State on the road. For their first win, the Redbirds escaped by relying on a buzzer-beating layup at home to knock off Morehead State, in a game they were favored by 10.5 points. Illinois State then proceeded to get thrashed at home by 4.5-point underdog South Dakota State, 83-67. The winner of this matchup will play the winner of TCU/Rhode Island on Wednesday evening in the finals, with Maryland hoping to close out its third non-conference tournament title in three seasons. G Dion Wiley (4.1 PPG) is out for the season for the Terrapins.

Can Maryland put it all together and win comfortably on Tuesday night? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2015-16 season.

Coach Dan Muller’s ISU club will first look to star G DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (17.8 PPG, 55% FG) to have a big night if it hopes to stick with Maryland in Cancun. Purcell is the Redbirds’ only double-figure scorer, and at 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, he has the size and strength to create his own offense against any opponent. Purcell teams up with junior G Paris Lee (9.8 PPG, 5.0 APG, 1.8 TOPG) for a very solid backcourt, as Lee will have to keep up his rock-solid play against the likes of defensive pressure he hasn’t seen this season. Worrisome for Illinois State will be how they handle Maryland’s frontcourt of 6-foot-9 and up. The Redbirds’ have been outrebounded in three out of their four contests this season and individual season high for rebounds in a game this season is eight by F Deontae Hawkins (9.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.3 BPG). The 6-foot-8, 220-pound Hawkins leads the frontcourt, and he’s going to obviously have his hands full Tuesday evening. Hawkins is also Illinois State’s best outside threat, shooting the three at a 38% clip (1.5 made threes per game), and could open up driving lanes for Akoon-Purcell and Lee by drawing either Carter or Stone out to the perimeter to guard him. Further complicating matters for Hawkins and fellow F MiKyle McIntosh (6.5 PPG) is their collective propensity for fouling, at 3.5 and 4.0 fouls per game respectively. Led by Jake Layman and Melo Trimble’s excellence at the line, Maryland is not the team you want to be sending to the charity stripe repeatedly. F Nick Banyard (5.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG), a transfer from New Mexico, could be in line for a bigger workload than his normal 16.5 minutes per game given his experience, and his teammates’ past foul troubles.

While head coach Mark Turgeon can’t be pleased with how Maryland has started the season, with so many new parts to assimilate to the core duo of G Melo Trimble (16.3 PPG, 3.3 APG) and F Jake Layman (14.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG), an adjustment period can be explained away, especially if things start clicking like preseason prognosticators expected. Getting off to a better start and putting the Redbirds in a hole by halftime would be a great step forward for the No. 2 team in the land, as it has scored 33 and 29 first-half points, respectively, in tight wins over Georgetown and Rider. Maryland has a very offensively skilled core six players, and Mark Turgeon’s teams are always stout defensively, so don’t be surprised if the offensive explosion happens tonight. In addition to preseason All-Conference picks in Trimble and Layman, F Robert Carter (11.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 58% FG), G Rasheed Sulaimon (8.7 PPG, 4.3 APG, 46% threes) and freshman C Diamond Stone (9.0 PPG) are all capable of turning in big nights. Stone was a big factor in the win over Rider, as Turgeon brought the McDonald’s All-American off the bench for the first time and Stone responded with 12 points and two blocks on 6-of-7 from the field. Maryland will have a noticeable size advantage in the paint and will look to bury the Redbirds on the glass, similarly to what gave the team success in its win against Mount St. Mary’s.