The Maryland men’s basketball team announced its 2017-18 non-conference schedule on Monday.
With the exception of matchups with Butler, Syracuse and potentially TCU, the Terps avoid power conference opponents. Maryland hosts Butler in the Gavitt Games on Nov. 15 and visits Syracuse in the ACC/Big Ten challenge on Nov. 27.
Butler is coming off a 25-9 campaign in which it advanced to the Sweet 16. The Bulldogs lost, 92-80, to eventual national champions North Carolina. Syracuse, meanwhile, went 19-15 and missed the NCAA tournament despite upsetting top-10 opponents Florida State, Virginia and Duke down the stretch.
Maryland will also play either TCU (Big 12) or New Mexico (Mountain West) on Nov. 25 in the Emerald Coast Classic. Neither team made the NCAA tournament last year.
The Terps begin their campaign on Nov. 10 at Stony Brook. Their first home game is on Nov. 12 against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Other notable non-conference contests at the Xfinity Center include Bucknell (Nov. 18), St. Bonaventure (Nov. 24) and Ohio (Dec. 7).
Last season, Maryland faced Georgetown, Kansas State, Pittsburgh and Oklahoma State as its most daunting non-conference tests. It went 3-1 in those games.
The Terps lost star point guard Melo Trimble to the 2017 NBA Draft and inside presence Damonte Dodd to graduation. But they retained their sophomore nucleus of guards Kevin Huerter and Anthony Cowan, and forward Justin Jackson entering this season.
