No. 6 Wisconsin Upset by Unranked Maryland; Eric Ayala Drops 17 in Win

The unranked Maryland Terrapins lost three of their past four games before they traveled to face No. 6 Wisconsin, but 17 points from guard Eric Ayala led them to victory Monday and improved them to 6-3 on the season.

Ayala, who also had four rebounds and two assists, was one of three Terrapins to score at least 12 points, with guard Aaron Wiggins finishing one rebound shy of a double-double while scoring 15 points. Forward Donta Scott tallied 12 points with four rebounds and two assists.

Wisconsin was led by guard D'Mitrik Trice, who dropped 25 points with four rebounds and three assists. Guard Aleem Ford was the only other Badger to score in double digits, having added 10 points and six rebounds.

With the win, the Terps earned their first victory over a team ranked in the Top 10 since January 2016.

Wisconsin, which dropped to 8-2 on the season, led by four points at halftime.

The Terrapins capitalized in the second half, scoring 46 points on 64.0 percent shooting from the field and 42.9 percent from three, up from 37.0 from the field and 30.0 percent from beyond the arc in the first half. They outscored Wisconsin 7-0 on fast-break points and added eight points off turnovers.

Wisconsin was whistled for 10 personal fouls in the second frame, and the Terrapins made the most of the opportunity, hitting 11 of their 12 free throws.

As the two teams kept trading the lead late as the clock ticked under 10 minutes, Maryland hit 11 of its last 12 field goals and three of its last four attempts from three to steal the victory on the road.

The Badgers entered Monday on a five-game winning streak, having suffered their lone loss of the season to Marquette, 67-65, on Dec. 4. They beat then-No. 12 Michigan State, 85-76, on Christmas Day.

The Terps are a rare outlier in the Big Ten, which was well represented in the AP Top 25 poll with nine teams ranked and Indiana receiving votes, but they've shown that they'll be able to fight for wins in a tough conference.

Up next, they'll face some of the toughest competition in the Big Ten, with games against No. 16 Michigan, Indiana, No. 10 Iowa and No. 15 Illinois on tap over the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin will host No. 21 Minnesota followed by Penn State and Indiana, and then heads into a stretch of four games against ranked opponents before meeting Maryland again Jan. 30.