Preview: Maryland men's basketball kicks off 2026 looking for first Big Ten win vs. Oregon

Chase King
4 days ago
2 min read

Maryland (7-6, 0-2 B1G) vs. Oregon (7-6, 0-2 B1G)

When: Friday, January 2 | 7:30 PM

Where: XFINITY Center

Streaming: Peacock

Radio: One Maryland App, 105.7 FM, 980 AM

Betting: Maryland +2.5 (DraftKings)

Following a 15-point win against Old Dominion on Sunday, Maryland's men's basketball will stay home and resume conference play against Oregon on Friday night.

Both teams will be looking for their first Big Ten wins as Maryland has suffered losses to No. 25 Iowa and No. 2 Michigan, while Oregon has losses against UCLA and No. 24 USC.

Maryland lost 83-79 at Oregon last year in the two programs' first-ever matchup in Oregon's inaugural season in the Big Ten.

Oregon is still searching for its first win away from home, having lost its prior four away and neutral-site games. Maryland enters the game 4-2 at home, with losses coming from Georgetown and Michigan.

Maryland may still be without forward Pharrel Payne, who is the Terps' highest scorer with 17.5 points per game. In Payne's absence, they rely on forward Elijah Saunders to take over the five spot. Without Payne, the majority of the scoring will go through the Maryland guards.

In Maryland's prior matchup against Mount St. Mary's, they started guards Darius Adams, Andre Mills, and Isaiah Watts, who combined for 46 points and helped contribute to the Terps best defensive game of the season.

The Ducks will be led by center Nate Bittle, guard Jackson Shelstad and Takai Simpson who are all averaging points in the double figures. Bittle leads the way with 16.1 points per game, while also averaging 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks. Shelstad is a streaky shooter who attempts 8.8 three-pointers per game and shoots them at 31.4%. Shelstad scored 22 points when he played Maryland last year, while shooting 8-for-10 from the field and 5-for-5 from three.

Maryland native Kwame Evans Jr. is uncertain against Maryland but would be a big addition for the Ducks, averaging 13.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

If the Terps are without Payne, rebounding will be the biggest problem heading into the game. Oregon is 19th in the nation in offensive rebounds, averaging 12.2 offensive rebounds per game.

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