GoldandBlack.com's Purdue Roundball Roundball is a periodic notebook to be published throughout the season, or at least until we start forgetting to do it.

When Purdue faces Maryland Tuesday night in College Park, the Terrapins will be squarely focused on the Boilermakers' Brandon Newman, and for good reason.

Newman torched the Terps back on Christmas Day while Maryland seemed to build their defensive plan around stopping Sasha Stefanovic, opening up all sorts of opportunities for other players, Newman included.

Now, Stefanovic is out, sitting out what'll likely be the last of the three games he'll lose to COVID-19, and not only is Newman fresh in Maryland's mind, but he's red-hot, coming off a 29-point game vs. Minnesota.

In Purdue's two games without Stefanovic, Newman has made 7-of-8 from three-point range, though none of those makes have come before halftime, strangely.

Needless to say, No. 5 will be prominently featured on Maryland's scouting report, which might make for a great test for Newman, the emergent redshirt freshman who's been such an impact player for Purdue, but ridden distinct ups and downs along the way.

"It's probably the most frustrating thing for me," Newman said after the Minnesota game. "How bad I want to be good and how bad I want to help this team and be consistent on a nightly basis. That's one of the things I'm working on most, being consistent."

Newman's now averaging 10.1 points for the entire season and shooting 44.1 percent from three-point range — 46.3 percent in Big Ten play, which would rank second in the conference if not for an lofty requirement of two-and-a-half makes per game — but productivity has come with some uneven-ness.