Prominent ESPN host enjoyed Maryland’s win over Wisconsin basketball

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Prominent ESPN host Scott Van Pelt had a front-row seat to Maryland basketball’s 76-68 win over Wisconsin on Wednesday.

That is stated literally — Van Pelt sat courtside as the Terrapins rode a 44-37 second half to the eight-point win.

Related: Everything Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said after Badgers loss to Maryland

Van Pelt, a Maryland alumnus, has notably stated that “there are nights when the building won’t let you lose.” The building he references is a college basketball venue, and the ‘you’ is the home team. In this case, it’s Maryland. Once the Terrapins orchestrated an 11-0 second-half run to take a decisive lead, it became clear that Wednesday was one of those nights.

Maryland improved to 17-5 overall and 7-4 in Big Ten play with the triumph. The team is now alone in fourth place in the Big Ten standings, just three games behind first-place Michigan State. The win also pushed the Terrapins to 13-1 at home this season. The XFINITY Center, as Van Pelt notes, has done well in lifting the Terrapins to victory.

That home-court advantage was on full display on Wednesday as Wisconsin shot just 37% from the field and 33% from three. The Badgers’ point total of 68 was their lowest output since an early December loss to Michigan. There were also a few home-court whistles, including pivotal foul calls on Badgers wings John Blackwell and John Tonje late in the first half.

The building’s impact was most clearly seen when the Terrapins went on that mentioned second-half run to turn a 48-43 deficit into a 54-48 lead. The Big Ten’s social media team made sure to zero in on Van Pelt after Rodney Rice’s three-pointer punctuated the extended run:

Van Pelt currently hosts ESPN’s highly popular late-night SportsCenter slot. Austin Karp of the Sports Business Journal recently noted that Van Pelt’s January 2025 audience was his best since December 2017. With many College Football Playoff and big-time NFL games as lead-ins, Van Pelt has made the late-night spot one of the most-watched on the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/prominent-espn-host-enjoyed-maryland-200034255.html

Author : Badgers Wire

Publish date : 2025-01-30 20:00:00

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