Preview: Maryland men's basketball looks to bounce back vs. winless Alcorn State

Ahmed Ghafir
2 days ago
3 min read

Alcorn State (0-3) vs. Maryland (1-1)

When & Where: November 11, 2025 | 7:00 PM

Stream: Xfinity Center | B1G+

Radio: One Maryland App | 105.7 FM (Baltimore) | 980 AM (DC) | SiriusXM channel 388

Betting: Maryland -30.5 | O/U: 151.1 (DraftKings)

Tuesday will mark the fourth all-time meeting between Maryland and Alcorn State with the Terps securing blowout wins in each of the last two seasons. Led by Jake Morton in his first-ever season as head coach after serving as an assistant at Florida State, Alcorn State is still searching for their first win of the season after suffering blowout losses against Florida State and Minnesota by an average scoring difference of 38.5 points. Sandwiched between those losses was a 76-70 loss at South Alabama as Alcorn State, picked to finish tenth in the 12-team SWAC in 2025-26, looks to head to College Park to right the ship.

Shane Lancaster, a St. John’s (DC) grad and Bowie (MD) native, enters Tuesday's matchup as the team's leading scorer despite coming off the bench, thanks to his 25-point performance vs. South Alabama. Starting guard Tycen McDaniels and forward Nick Woodard also posted consecutive double figure games to open the season before being held to combined four points vs. Minnesota in a game no Brave scored more than nine points. Alcorn State enters Tuesday’s matchup ranks 317^th in the country averaging just 65.3 points per game.

We take a look at what to watch for on Tuesday:

Update: Myles Rice, who made his debut vs. Georgetown, is ruled inactive tonight vs. Alcorn State, per the Big Ten Availability Report.

Will the starting lineup stay the same?

Friday marked one step closer to full strength with Myles Rice available to make his Maryland debut, checking in less than three minutes into the game before posting 19 points in 27 minutes. That took a hit, though, after the transfer guard was ruled out alongside Solomon Washington for Tuesday's matchup, marking his third missed game this season. Diggy Coit, meanwhile, relieved freshman Guillermo Del Pino in the opening minute after an unforced turnover roughly 30 seconds into the game gave the Hoyas an early momentum-building play, leading head coach Buzz Williams to turn to his bench. While Elijah Saunders will look to bounce back and Pharrel Payne looks to become more efficient after a 2-of-7 performance vs. Georgetown, will Tuesday mark the first adjustment to the starting lineup with Coit at full strength? Head coach Buzz Williams was transparent that Rice’s game-high four turnovers was an area of improvement as the primary lead guard, and with nearly a week of practice and one game under his belt, Tuesday could serve as a chance to settle in ahead of Saturday’s pivotal non-conference matchup at Marquette. All eyes remain on Solomon Washington, who was spotted without his boot pregame vs. Georgetown, as he still looks to make his Maryland debut.

Efficient shooting

After using over eight minutes of game time to hit the team’s first field goal and hitting just five shots in the first half, Tuesday is a get-right opportunity for a Maryland offense that’s trying to find rhythm and coming off an abysmal showing against the Hoyas. That also includes perimeter shooting after Maryland shot just 2-of-13 at halftime and 4-of-21 in the loss as head coach Buzz Williams continues to stress the importance of free throw shooting for this season’s team, adding “we're going to have to shoot a lot of free throws,” after Friday’s loss. But can Maryland’s guards like Isaiah Watts and Darius Adams capitalize on sets to provide a dose of optimism to an offense still gelling together? Time will tell as Tuesday gives Maryland a chance to do so after Coppin State allowed both the Seminoles and Gophers to shoot at least 48% from the field in their losses.

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