Virginia will host Maryland on Saturday night for their first meeting since 2018.
It’s been too long.
This will be the first of a four-game series, renewing a rivalry that will continue annually if Virginia makes the move to the Big Ten at the next conference realignment.
Maryland leads the series overall, 107-76, dating back to 1913. But the ‘Hoos have maintained recent success, winning 15 of 22 since 1991, including a 76-71 victory in their most recent matchup in 2018.
Buzz Williams, the former Virginia Tech coach, is in his first year with the Terps. They’ve struggled out of the gates with a 6-5 record.
The schedule has been tough: the Cavs will be the fifth Top 20 NET team that Maryland has faced.
And they’ve been bitten by the injury bug early on. Maryland has only had starter Solomon Washington back for three games, guard Myles Rice for five games, and saw star big man Pharrel Payne dodge a serious injury on a scary fall after a dunk.
Payne (17 points/g, 7 rebounds/g) injured his knee in the team’s last game, a 101-83 loss to #1 Michigan.
Williams has previously declared his adoration for his former Texas A&M standout who followed him to Maryland:
“He is the most beautiful player I’ve ever coached as a human being taller than six-five,” Williams said.
And that’s saying a lot coming from Buzz, who coached Jimmy Butler at Marquette.
Payne’s availability will be a huge factor in Saturday’s game.
Maryland’s loss to #1 Michigan doesn’t reflect how close the game was. The Terps held a five-point lead at halftime. Guard David Coit got hot early and led the Terps with 20 points. Payne’s knee injury late in the first half already left the Terps shorthanded, but when another Terps big, Washington, was ejected for receiving a controversial second technical foul early in the second half, Maryland was cooked.
But in that game, there were flashes of what Maryland is capable of. They play extremely hard, as you always expect from a Buzz Williams bunch. They are dangerous from three-point land and have consistently played tough teams.
You never know what will happen in a rivalry game, so buckle your seats and strap in for what could be a dogfight. But hopefully just another 20+ point blowout.
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