Toughest Games on Maryland Basketball’s 2022-23 Schedule
- John Gugs
- Jul 4, 2022
- 6 min read
In Kevin Willard's first season as the head coach for the Maryland Men's Basketball program, the Terps will be looking to bounce back from their first losing season in 30 years.
This season the Terps will have a tougher non-conference schedule then the fans have been used to in previous years. In a press release over the summer, Willard stated, "my programs have always played challenging non-conference opponents and we are continuing that here at Maryland". But along with the tougher non-conference schedule there are quite a few interesting conference games to look towards this season, we take a look at the toughest matchups heading into the season.
Honorable Mention: VS Saint Louis, Hall of Fame Tip-Off
The Saint Louis Billikens are coming off a 23-12 season where they lost in the first round of the NIT tournament. They are a consistent power in the A-10 conference making the NCAA tournament five times since 2000 and the NIT tournament four times since 2000. The Billikens have been tabbed as the early favorites to win the A-10 and have been ranked 26 by Gary Parrish in his early season Top 25 and 1 rankings so this could be an interesting early season match up.
Honorable Mention: Away vs Louisville, BIG 10/ACC Challenge
Not only is it Kevin Willard's first year at the helm for Maryland, but it is also Kenny Payne's first season as the head coach for Louisville. So two typical household name teams with first year head coaches in the biggest two conference challenge can set up for an interesting matchup. The Terps are also only 1-7 in the BIG 10/ACC Challenge since joining the BIG 10, something Willard is looking to change.
5. Home & Away vs Ohio State
After exiting the NCAA tournament in the second round last year, the Buckeyes are losing some key players from last season in E.J Liddell and Malaki Branham. It’ll be a homecoming of sorts for former Buckeyes and current Terps assistant Tony Skinn, but Ohio State reloads with a top ten recruiting class and a nice trio of veteran transfers in Sean McNeil (West Virginia), Isaac Likekele (Oklahoma State), and Tanner Holden (Wright State). The Buckeyes once again have a soid roster with lots of depth and will be another key team to look out for in winning the Big Ten. A key player to look out for on the Buckeyes will be Guard Tanner Holden who at Wright State last season, averaged 20.1 points per game and finished 18th in the country. He also had 7.1 rebounds per game and 2.6 assists per game last season. Look for him to make a big impact scoring for the Buckeyes.
Prediction: Home, Maryland 76- Ohio State 72; Away, Maryland 65- Ohio State 81
4. Home and Away vs Michigan
The Wolverines are coming off a 19-15 season where they made it to the sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament before losing to Villanova. Although they did lose some key players in Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate, arguably their biggest player from last season, Hunter Dickenson is returning for his Junior season. Dickenson, a DMV native has taken any chance he can to get revenge on the Terps basketball program ever since he was a freshman due to bad blood with Turgeon and the past coaching staff. Along with Dickenson the Wolverines return Terrance Wiliams and they added Princeton transfer Jaelin Llewellyn and a top 40 prospect in Tarris Reed. The Wolverines were ranked 19th in Gary Parrish's Top 25-and-1 rankings and look to be another team in shape to contend for the BIG 10 title this season. The player to look out for on the Wolverines is Dickenson. Last season he led the team in points per game with 18.6, rebounds per game with 8.6, and blocks per game with 1.5. He had a chance to declare for the draft but chose to come back for another season.
Prediction: Home, Maryland 79- Michigan 70. Away Maryland 68- Michigan 73
3. Home vs Indiana
For Indiana, they made their first NCAA tournament since 2016. Although they did lose in the first round it felt like a good season under first year head coach Mike Woodson. And in Woodson's second year as the head coach, Indiana looks to be even stronger this season. Ranked 16th in Gary Parrish's Top 25 and 1, the Hoosiers are the highest ranked BIG 10 team on the list. The Hoosiers are returning their top three scorers from last season and they have the eight ranked recruiting class coming in as well. For the Hoosiers, the player to look out for is Forward Trace Jackson-Davis. Jackson-Davis led the team in points per game with 18.3, rebounds per game with 8.1, and blocks per game with 2.3. Jackson-Davis is one of the favorites to win the BIG 10 player of the year award and possibly the national player of the year award as well.
Prediction: Maryland 67- Indiana 78
2. Neutral vs Tennessee, Hall of Fame Invitational
After getting upset by Michigan in the second round of the NCAA tournament last season, Tennessee looks to be even stronger this upcoming season. The Volunteers are returning four of their top five scorers from last season with the loss of Kennedy Chandler to the NBA, but bring in five star forward Julian Phillips. The Volunteers are the third highest ranked SEC team in Gary Parrish's Top 25 and 1 rankings behind Kentucky and Arkansas and look to be one of the top contenders for the conference title this season. The Terps have not played the Volunteers since 1984 and both teams have one two games a piece in the all time series which makes for this to be an intriguing game between two unfamiliar teams early on in the season. The player to look out for on the Volunteers is Guard Santiago Vescovi. He was an All-SEC Guard last season and averaged 13-3 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, and 3.2 assist per game. Vescovi will be the lead guard for the Volunteers after the departure of Chandler.
Prediction: Maryland 73- Tennessee 82
1. Home vs UCLA
On June 8th, it was officially announced that the Terps and UCLA would be playing a home and home series over the next two seasons and this season, the Terps will be the ones hosting. Now a future conference matchup, UCLA enters the seasn ranked tenth by Gary Parrish in his Top 25 and 1 rankings, so a top-ten team coming to College Park early on in the season should make for a rocking Xfinity Center and an interesting match up. The Bruins went to the Sweet 16 before getting upset by UNC in the NCAA tournament last season. Mick Cronin has turned UCLA into a contending basketball team going 68-30 since 2019 when he was hired as the head coach. The Bruins lose their leading scorer in Johnny Juzang but bring back three other players that averaged ten or more points last season in Jaime Jaguez, Jules Bernard, and Tyger Campbell. The Bruins are also bringing in a top five recruiting class with sixth ranked Amari Bailey being their highest ranked recruit. Adem Bona, a five star center, is another big recruit that is joining UCLA this season. A player to look out for on the Bruins is Jaime Jaquez. Last season he led the team in rebounds with 5.7 rebounds per game and also led the team in steals with 1.1 steals per game while adding 13.9 points per game as well. This game could show just how good this year's Terps team really is and give Willard a chance to prove he is the man for the job in an early season big matchup. The Terps and Bruins have only faced off three times in the past, the last game being in 2007. But with the news breaking on Thursday about UCLA and USC to join the BIG 10 in 2024, expect the two teams to face off a lot more often.
Prediction: Maryland 69- UCLA 70
With a lot of big games this season for the Terps, Willard will look to gain the fan base's trust and pull off a few upsets and position the Terps back in the NCAA tournament.
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