When it comes to college basketball, one thing is certain: the University of Maryland men’s basketball team capitalizes against top-ranked teams every February. From the University of North Carolina and Duke University in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the Maryland Terrapins are historically known for their February upsets of top-ranked teams. This time around, the Terps entered the Xfinity Center in College Park on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 24 with plenty of momentum, having previously won three straight games and proudly supported by a raucous sellout crowd of 17,950.

Ranked number five in the latest Associated Press (AP) poll, the University of Wisconsin Badgers (23-5, 13-1 in the Big Ten Conference) entered College Park with 10 consecutive wins, as the outright favorites to win the Big Ten regular season title, and were favored by 6.5 points against the hungry Terrapins.

From the onset, the Terps stood in complete control over the Badgers, shooting 61 percent from the field and jumping out to a commanding 31-20 lead at halftime. After an early second half scare from the Badgers, sparked by forward Frank Kaminsky, the Terps’ Dez Wells emerged on an unstoppable tear, including a gargantuan, electrifying slam which gave the Terps a narrow and solidifying 53-48 lead with three minutes left in the game. The Badgers fought until the sounding buzzer, but Wells and the Terps ultimately prevailed in their toughest test of the season.

Junior Devesh Sullivan, commonly critical of the Terps’ play, was undeniably impressed by their performance against the Badgers.

“In the past few weeks, Maryland has looked awful. But [this time] , they stepped it up for once and beat a real team,” Sullivan said.

“Everything clicked tonight. [Wells] wasn’t going to let us lose, and everyone else had his back,” head coach Mark Turgeon said in the post-game press conference. 

Wells also had high praise for his own play, yet couldn’t deny the powerful presence of his teammates.

“Some nights, you get on a roll. I’ve been putting in a lot of work lately and it payed off tonight. This win still wouldn’t have been possible without my [team],” Wells said in the post-game press conference.

The Terps, now solidly second place in the Big Ten,  seem to be on the right track after a sluggish middle portion of conference play. For a while, their early season dominance seemed quite premature, where they slipped three losses by 19 points or more to inferior opponents. However, their 23rd win (11th in conference play) against the Badgers assured fans that the talented squad are surefire contenders for the (NCAA) title this year.