GAME NOTES: The 17th-ranked Maryland Terrapins play their first true road game of the season when they invade Gallagher-Iba Arena on Sunday afternoon for a showdown with the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Mark Turgeon's Terrapins have just one loss on the season and that came a couple of weeks ago in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. On the other side of things, Maryland, in its first season in the Big Ten, fell to top-10 foe Virginia 76-65 in College Park. Maryland has righted the ship however, with wins in each of its last three outings, including a 67-57 win over USC Upstate last weekend to close out a six-game homestand.

Travis Ford's Cowboys are getting closer and closer to the Top-25 as they are also sporting just one loss on the year. The team opened the season with seven straight wins, but fell 75-49 at South Carolina as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Dec. 6. The team has won each of its last two outings however, moving to 9-1 on the year with last week's 68-44 rout of Middle Tennessee.

These two teams have met just one time prior and that came all the way back in 1966. Maryland edged out Oklahoma State 50-49 in the Memphis Invitational that year.

The Terrapins have found success at both ends of the floor this season. The team is averaging 75.3 ppg on .476 shooting, while limiting the opposition to just 61.4 ppg and well under 40 percent efficiency (.370). The strong defense has carried beyond the arc, as foes are converting just 28.9 percent of the time from long range. Most teams would struggle with their top playmaker sidelined, but Dez Wells' absence (wrist) from the lineup hasn't hurt the team yet. While the team could certainly use his 16.2 ppg, others have stepped up and filled the void. Freshman Melo Trimble is definitely one of those guys, as the youngster is second on the team with a solid 15.8 ppg. Jake Layman is the other, as the junior pours in 15.4 ppg.

Maryland shot a modest .400 from the floor against USC Upstate, but held the visitors to just a .373 effort in the 10-point win. The Terrapins did dominate on the boards (44-31) and outscored USC Upstate 17-8 from the free-throw line. Layman led the way with 17 points, Trimble recorded his first double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Evan Smotrycz finished with 19 points in just 18 minutes of work.

Oklahoma State is another team with great balanced play at both ends of the floor. The Cowboys are yielding just 56.6 ppg this year, holding opponents to just .352 shooting (among the nation's top-15 teams). Offensively, the team is driven by the dynamic scoring duo of senior forward Le'Bryan Nash and junior guard Phil Forte III. Nash leads the team with 17.7 ppg, with Forte hot on his trail at 17.1 ppg.

The Cowboys jumped all over the Blue Raiders early, holding Middle Tennessee to a mere .304 shooting performance in the first half and taking a 40-21 advantage into halftime. OSU, which shot a sizzling 64 percent from the floor in the first stanza, cooled off considerably over the final 20 minutes (.364), but the visitors were unable to make any headway. Nash led four Cowboys in double figures with 16 points. Forte and Michael Cobbins finished with 12 points each, while Jeff Newberry came off the bench to tally 11.

Just how well Maryland takes to the road remains to be seen. The Cowboys however, are a perfect 6-0 in Stillwater and could use a real quality win here.