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| Ivan Bender |
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland junior forward Ivan Bender will miss the remainder of the 2017-2018 season after suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee in the Terps' win over UMBC, the program announced Jan. 31.
“Ivan has been playing some of his best basketball over the past month,” head coach Mark Turgeon said in a statement. “He has developed into a strong contributor for our team and we are going to miss his leadership and presence on the court. We are confident that he will make a full recovery.”
Bender, who played in 15 contests with seven starts for the Terps this season, averaged 3.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists and per game.
Bender is the second member of the Terps' front court lost for the season in the past week, as the team announced Dec. 28 that Justin Jackson would miss the rest of the 2017-2018 campaign with a torn labrum in his right shoulder.
A native of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bender is scheduled to have surgery on his right knee later this week.
With Bender expected to see increased minutes due to the loss of Jackson before suffering his own season-ending injury, the Terps will likely now have to look further down the bench to big men Sean Obi and Josh Tomaic to help pick up the slack in the front court.
The Terps return to Big Ten play Jan. 2 when they host Penn State. The game is set to tip off at 7:00 p.m. ET and will be televised on BTN.
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