Three takeaways from Maryland men's basketball's exhibition win vs. Georgia Tech
Maryland men’s basketball unofficially tipped off the 2026-27 season on Sunday with an 85-70 exhibition win against Georgia Tech. It was an encouraging start for a program looking for a bounce-back season in Year 2 under coach Buzz Williams. Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s victory.
Pharrel Payne is back and as good as ever
In his first game action since suffering a season-ending leg injury against Michigan in December, Payne looked to be every bit the player he was before the injury occurred. In addition to his team-leading 16 points and nine rebounds, he added three steals and two assists in 20 minutes.
Not only did Payne stuff the stat sheet, but he played with an infectious energy. He dove for loose balls, ran the court effectively and threw down an alley-oop that brought the Maryland bench to its feet. He played with the energy and passion of someone who hasn’t been able to do the thing they love in a long time.
On Thursday at Big Ten Media Day, Williams raved about Payne’s character in an interview with Big Ten Network’s Dave Revsine and Bruce Weber.
“He's one of the better human beings I've ever had a chance to coach,” Williams said. “His person, his spirit, and his ability to lead, even when he wasn't playing, has been transformative in his life.”
Both on and off the court, expect Payne to be Maryland’s rock this season.
Kaden House may be Maryland’s most ready-to-contribute freshman
Baba Oladotun was Maryland’s most highly rated freshman, and Austin Brown was the only freshman to start Sunday’s game for the Terps, but the 6-foot-3 House stole the show, scoring 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting. House’s versatility was on display as he knocked down both 3-point attempts, went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line and threw down a fast-break dunk.
“He’s Mensa-level smart in a way that’s incredibly rare,” Williams said when asked about House after the game.
House’s basketball IQ shouldn’t come as a surprise given his father is former NBA player Eddie House. Based on how the younger House views defense, the fact that he flashed active hands throughout the night and had two steals shouldn’t come as a surprise either.
“It’s really important to me because I feel like that’s how I’ll stay on the floor,” House said when asked about the importance of defense to his game. “I’m really just a defensive-minded guard.”
For many talented freshmen, adjusting to the speed and complexity of playing defense at the college level is a tough task. Although House wasn’t perfect, fouling out with 8:44 remaining, it appears he has the skill, aptitude and mindset to make an immediate impact on both the offensive and defensive ends.
Maryland’s defense looks more aggressive
Last season Maryland finished 346th out of 365 Division I teams in steal percentage, which limited opportunities to create easy buckets for a team that often struggled to score in its half-court offense. On Sunday, Maryland forced 13 steals and scored 22 points off turnovers as the Terps resembled the blitzing, in-your-face defenses Williams often put on the court during his time at Texas A&M.
“I thought that in the first half, some of the things that we’re trying to accomplish in the first 10 seconds of the possession led to a lot of the numbers that you mentioned,” Williams said when asked about Maryland’s steals and points off turnovers.
Williams wasn’t as complimentary of Maryland’s second-half performance, noting that the Terps “failed almost every possession in the second half” as far as what they wanted to accomplish defensively in the first 10 seconds.
Maryland is far from a finished product defensively, but when Payne was asked after the game about the biggest differences he sees between this year’s team and last year’s, he noted defensive pride, playing aggressively and rebounding as chief among them.
Between the length on this roster (no Maryland player is shorter than 6-foot-3) and the defensive havoc the Terps created against the Yellow Jackets, the defensive potential is evident.
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