By Susan Harman

MINNEAPOLIS—Maryland has been the Big Ten bully ever since the school joined the Big Ten in 2013-14. The Terps won the regular-season championship in their first seven seasons. Last season was the first break in the line when Iowa and Ohio State tied for the title. Even that comes with an asterisk because in that season Maryland played one less game than did Iowa and OSU.

Maryland had some early season hiccups as coach Brenda Frese put together a new team after several stars, including Angel Reese, left for other schools. The losses to DePaul and Nebraska stand out, especially the Nebraska loss which was in College Park, Md.

But that’s yesterday’s news. Today when Maryland (25-5) tips off at 4 p.m. against Iowa (24-6) in a Big Ten tournament semifinal it is a force of nature. The Terps have won seven in a row, and Iowa took one of those losses just 11 days ago, 96-68. Iowa did beat the Terps in Iowa City, 96-82.

The difference in the statistics from the two games is telling. When Iowa won it shot 62 percent to Maryland’s 42 percent. Maryland made only 2-of-18 3-point shots. The 96 points were the most the Terps have given up all year.

But when Maryland won it shot 48 percent and held Iowa to 35 percent. The Terps were 14-of-26 (.538) behind the arc. Iowa committed 24 turnovers. Clearly the Terps ramped up the defense at home and ran Iowa out of the building.

Despite the team’s offensive stars, like Diamond Miller, Abby Meyers and Shyanne Sellers, it is defense that this Maryland team wants as its calling card.

“Defense wins games,” Terps guard Brinae Alexander said. “So we come in and just have our defense set the tone, that’s just going to set out the game because once we get the defense rolling everybody starts clicking.”

The Target Center is supposed to be a neutral court, but if Friday’s crowd was any indication it will be like an Iowa home game. So the question is can Iowa turn around some of those ugly numbers with a boisterous, supportive crowd. Can it execute its offense without turning the ball over? It won’t be easy against Maryland’s quickness and depth (two bench players combined for 43 points at Maryland).

*Grinders revisited.  Iowa had a chance to put Purdue away in the first half of its quarterfinal. The Hawkeyes led by nine late in the first quarter but had too many empty possessions the rest of the half. Six turnovers and five blocked shots in the crowded area near the basket put a halt to any hopes that the game would be something other than a grinder.

But really, that’s what tournament games are all about. The effort expended in the quarterfinals, particularly on defense, could power the city of Minneapolis through the winter. Ohio State’s Cotie McMahon noted the different temperature, so to speak, in rival Michigan’s effort.

“I’d say the difference was their energy,” McMahon said. “No team wants to lose three times in a row, let alone twice. So we knew coming into this game they’d be a whole different team. So I feel like their energy was completely different from the first time we played them.”

Several times in the fourth quarter of the Michigan-OSU game Michigan players took charges to regain possession in a tight game. Late in the game stocky forward Ebony Walker barreled down the court on a fast break. As Walker thundered down the lane Michigan’s smallest player, guard Maddie Nolan, stood her ground and took the charge. Nolan went flying, a little worse for wear, but was elated when the charge call was made.

“I’m just really proud of our team and just the way that we battled,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes-Arico said. “I thought we probably played harder than we’ve played all season long, and that’s a great sign moving into tournament time.”