By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Riding the momentum from having pulled off the second biggest comeback in program history, the Iowa men’s basketball team now looks to build off that achievement, but it’ll have to happen on the road.

Iowa (14-10, 6-7 Big Ten) will face Maryland (13-8, 5-8) on Wednesday in College Park, Maryland, and four days after having erased a 20-point second-half deficit to defeat Minnesota 90-85 last Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Senior forward Patrick McCaffery played a key role in the comeback by scoring 14 of his 21 points in the second half.

The son of Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery appears to be adjusting nicely to his new role as Iowa’s sixth man.

Patrick McCaffery has started 60 games as a Hawkeye, but he missed three games earlier this season due to an ankle injury. He was replaced in the starting lineup by sophomore guard Josh Dix, who has since performed well as a starter.

“I talked to him about it, and I talked to Josh about it, and obviously, when Patrick got hurt, Josh performed really well,” Fran McCaffery said Tuesday on a zoom call. “And not that I was surprised about that. And with additional playing time, he’s continued to play extremely well.

“And they both literally said, we don’t care which one you start. They both know they’re going to play, and I think Patrick is comfortable coming off the bench. He is way more verbal as a leader than he’s ever been and that’s been important. The guys respect him, and I think respect the fact that he’s accepted that role.”

Iowa will look to even the season series with Maryland, which won the first game 69-67 on Jan. 24 in Iowa City.

The Terrapins trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, and by six points with less than 5 minutes to play, but then rallied down the stretch and won on a layup by guard Jahmir Young with two seconds remaining.

A victory on Wednesday would pull Iowa back to .500 in Big Ten play, and would keep the team in position for a fifth consecutive upper-division finish in the conference.

Iowa is relying on a mix of youth and experience with 6-foot-10 freshman forward Owen Freeman leading the youth movement as he had 17 points and 14 rebounds in the win over Minnesota.

The Moline, Illinois was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the eight time on Monday. That is the second most freshman accolades in conference history behind former Ohio State forward Jared Sullinger, who was honored 12 times.

Freeman has struggled with foul problems this season and will be matched on Wednesday against a talented front-court player in Maryland forward Julian Reese.

So, Freeman’s ability to stay out of foul trouble could have a big impact on the game’s outcome.

“You just have to figure out how to play defense at this level against rally good players without chomping down or without picking up a silly touch foul, which puts you on the bench, and figure out that we’re better when he’s out there,” Fran McCaffery said. “That’s something that I continually try to encourage him; we need you out there. We can’t have you in foul trouble.”

Fran McCaffery said there is an art to staying out of foul trouble and Freeman is starting to figure that out.

So, that along with Patrick McCaffery excelling as Iowa’s new sixth man is reason for optimism.

Iowa vs. Maryland

When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: College Park, Maryland, the Turtle Xfinity Center (17,950)

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: Hawkeye Radsio Network

All-time series:  Wednesday’s game is the 17th meeting in the all-time series between Iowa and Maryland. The series is tied at eight. The Hawkeyes have won four of the last five meetings and five of the last seven. Maryland snapped a four-game losing streak with a 69-67 victory in Iowa City on Jan. 24.

Iowa has won the last two meetings in College Park by a combined 55 points, winning 89-67 in 2021 and 110-87 last season. The Hawkeyes are 3-3 at the Xfinity Center since the Terps joined the Big Ten Conference.