The Maryland men’s basketball team will have a different routine going into this year’s Big Ten tournament from the one it had for its first two postseason trips since joining the conference.

The third-seeded Terps slept in their own beds in College Park through Wednesday night, practiced at Xfinity Center on Thursday afternoon and bused to Washington that night before they play in tonight’s final quarterfinal against No. 6 seed Northwestern, which beat No. 14 seed Rutgers, 83-61, on Thursday night.

Maryland (24-7) also hopes to change its routine once the tournament begins.

The 25th-ranked Terps would like to get past the semifinals, where they have lost to Michigan State the past two years, and take home their first league tournament trophy since winning the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in 2004 in Greensboro, N.C.

Given how many Maryland fans could pack Verizon Center — particularly if the Terps can get to Sunday’s final — it might make for a significant home-court advantage for Mark Turgeon’s team.

“It will be a neutral court, but we love neutral courts,” said Turgeon, whose team won a tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., as well as a game at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore early this season.

“We don’t think about those things,” he continued. “We look at it as a positive. We don’t have to travel, we’re going to get on a bus, we’re probably going to miss one day of class. There’s a lot of positives.”

Though Turgeon believes it won’t be the same as the Xfinity Center — which might be a good thing considering the Terps have lost five games there this season — at least one of his counterparts thinks otherwise.

Asked whether playing in Washington favors the Terps, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said this week: “Sure it does, especially since the rest of us are coming so far. When it’s in Chicago, and Illinois is in the finals, it’s an orangefest. If it’s in Indianapolis, and Purdue or Indiana is in the finals, it’s that way for them. Now the difference is that our fans can get to those places a lot easier. So that’s a benefit for Maryland. But there are benefits everywhere you play.

“I do believe it’s a little more unique … but we had a chance to beat them [Saturday] and it was 16,000 of their fans. It’s not going to determine the game, but it’s pretty exciting for them and their fans. Maybe it’s incentive for them to get to the finals — no question about it.”

History is mixed when it comes to apparent home-court advantage in the Big Ten tournament. This marks the first time since the tournament began in 1998 that it will be played outside either Chicago or Indianapolis.

Illinois reached the final in 1999 and 2000 at the United Center in Chicago, losing both games to Michigan State as a lower seed.

The Fighting Illini won there in 2003 and 2005 as a No. 2 and No 1 seed.

Purdue won at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (then called Conseco Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis in 2009 as a No. 3 seed over No. 5 seed Ohio State, and lost there last season as a No. 4 seed against No. 2 seed Michigan State.

The location of this year’s tournament — close only to Maryland, and a three-to-four hour drive from low seeds Penn State and Rutgers — could give the Terps an advantage others in the past did not have.

“The thing about Indianapolis is that it’s right there in the middle [of the Big Ten] and it’s very fan-friendly,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “That’s why you see a lot of Final Fours there. You get a lot of people that are able to get there. … Now moving toward the East and giving them an advantage, does it lead to them winning games? It didn’t for Indiana and it didn’t for Purdue.”

The further Maryland advances, the more of its fans will be present at games.

“I’m sure Terp fans are trying to snatch up tickets,” Turgeon said. “Friday night, we should have a pretty good crowd. If we’re lucky to advance, which is not easy to do this time of year, if we continue to advance, I’m hoping our crowds will continue to grow. Being at home doesn’t guarantee you anything.”

don.markus@baltsun.com

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