Tonight’s the night various Maryland players and ACC coaches toast ex-Terps coach Gary Williams, who’ll have the court at the Comcast Center named after him tonight.
It’s quite an honor for the Hall of Fame coach who retired last May after leading his alma mater for 22 years and claiming its lone national title, back in 2002. Not everyone’s happy about the tribute – foremost among them being legendary coach Lefty Driesell – but there’s no denying it’ll be quite a night for Williams.
Question is, will it help the Terps pull off a big upset?
(All times ET; TV info from HDSportsGuide.com)
Duke at Maryland, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Maryland (12-6) is still adjusting to life under new coach Mark Turgeon and having a lineup that doesn’t rely on guard Terrell Stoglin to score. With Alex Len and Pe’Shon Howard on the court, the Terps have more balance and depth, but neither are playing very well. Normally I’d say that bodes ill for Maryland given the Blue Devils (16-3) are coming off a stunning home loss to FSU and will be motivated, but Duke’s defense is pretty bad. That and the emotion from the Williams ceremony might be enough to make this one close.
St. Louis at Xavier, 7 p.m. (FS Ohio, FS Midwest)
Neither leads the A-10, but these could be the league’s two best teams. The Billikens (15-4) are the best in terms of tempo-free stats, while the Musketeers (13-6) are the most talented. Until Xavier figures out what’s amiss in its post-brawl world – they’ve yet to beat a decent team since the rumble – St. Louis probably retains the “top team” rights.
BYU at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
Your random non-conference matchup of the night features two teams that have played just once, back in 1967. In Oklahoma City. Apparently it was a game the coaches had tried to schedule for years and this was the only time they could do it. Regardless, it gives the Hokies (12-7) a chance to bolster their good wins – never too early to talk bubble and Va. Tech – while the Cougars (17-5) hope their offensive hiccup against Loyola-Marymount last week was just that.
Dayton at St. Joe’s, 7 p.m. (Comcast Philly)
The Flyers (14-5) are atop the A-10 after drilling Xavier over the weekend. They’ve won six of their last seven and have an offense that kills it on the offensive glass and is making 41 percent of its 3-pointers during conference play. But the defense needs work, which could make their showdown against the Hawks (12-8) closer than coach Archie Miller would like.
EAST
Binghamton at Albany (NY), 7 p.m.
Holy Cross at Army, 7 p.m.
American U. at Bucknell, 7 p.m.
Lafayette at Colgate, 7 p.m.
Georgia St. at Drexel, 7 p.m.
George Mason at Hofstra, 7 p.m.
George Washington at La Salle, 7 p.m.
Maine at New Hampshire, 7 p.m.
Delaware at Northeastern, 7 p.m.
Providence at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
St. Bonaventure at Rhode Island, 7 p.m.
DePaul at Rutgers, 7 p.m.
Dayton at Saint Joseph’s, 7 p.m.
West Virginia vs. St. John’s at Madison Square Garden, 7 p.m.
Hartford at Stony Brook, 7 p.m.
VCU at Towson, 7 p.m.
Notre Dame at Seton Hall, 8 p.m.
SOUTH
Southern Miss. at East Carolina, 7 p.m.
Villanova at Louisville, 7 p.m.
UAB at Marshall, 7 p.m.
Fordham at Richmond, 7 p.m.
Old Dominion at UNC Wilmington, 7 p.m.
BYU at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m.
Florida St. at Wake Forest, 7 p.m.
Temple at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.
McNeese St. at Nicholls St., 7:30 p.m.
Rice at Memphis, 8 p.m.
LSU at Mississippi St., 8 p.m.
Lamar at Northwestern St., 8 p.m.
Cent. Arkansas at SE Louisiana, 8 p.m.
Alabama at South Carolina, 8 p.m.
SMU at Tulane, 8 p.m.
North Texas at Louisiana-Lafayette, 8:15 p.m.
Duke at Maryland, 9 p.m.
MIDWEST
Penn St. at Ohio St., 6:30 p.m.
Cent. Michigan at Bowling Green, 7 p.m.
Loyola of Chicago at Detroit, 7 p.m.
N. Illinois at Kent St., 7 p.m.
Toledo at Miami (Ohio), 7 p.m.
W. Michigan at Ohio, 7 p.m.
Ill.-Chicago at Wright St., 7 p.m.
Saint Louis at Xavier, 7 p.m.
Missouri St. at Illinois St., 7:05 p.m.
N. Iowa at Indiana St., 7:05 p.m.
Evansville at Wichita St., 8 p.m.
Creighton at Drake, 8:05 p.m.
Minnesota at Michigan St., 8:30 p.m.
SOUTHWEST
Missouri at Oklahoma St., 7:30 p.m.
Air Force at TCU, 7:30 p.m.
Sam Houston St. at Stephen F. Austin, 8 p.m.
Texas St. at Texas A&M-CC, 8 p.m.
UCF at Tulsa, 8 p.m.
Auburn at Arkansas, 9 p.m.
Kansas St. at Texas Tech, 9 p.m.
FAR WEST
UNLV at Boise St., 10 p.m.
Colorado St. at New Mexico, 10 p.m.
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