On Jan. 10, 2016, then-freshmen Youssif Hemida completed a furious comeback culminating in a pinfall victory against Michigan State heavyweight Dimitrius Renfroe. The Maryland crowd roared as the Terps secured their first ever Big Ten win by a score of 26-10 over the Spartans.

That remains Maryland’s lone Big Ten dual win.

Just over three years later, Hemida, now a senior and ranked No. 8 in the country, leads the Terps (0-6, 0-2 Big Ten) as they will look to secure their second ever Big Ten win as the Spartans (4-5, 1-3 Big Ten) return to College Park for the first time since that historical dual.

“They’ve got a lot of good individuals,” coach Kerry McCoy said about the Spartans. “They’ve got some new blood and some old blood, so it should be a fun match.”

[Read more: Maryland wrestling’s Philip Spadafora nearly stunned Nebraska’s No. 6-ranked Isaiah White]

That new blood comes in the form of No. 8-ranked sophomore 125-pounder Rayvon Foley and No. 20-ranked redshirt freshmen 184-pounder Cameron Caffey.

Maryland’s 184-pounder Kyle Jasenski is a redshirt freshman himself and is joined by returning 2018 NCAA qualifiers Alfred Bannister and Youssif Hemida as the only Terps with multiple dual victories this season.

[Read more: After a recruitment snag, Orion Anderson now calls Maryland wrestling home]

Jasenski knows he faces a difficult matchup but says he is doing his best to keep that from changing his mindset.

“Just go out and wrestle as hard I can,” Jasenski said about his gameplan. “I know he’s had a lot of success, but at the end of the day we’re both 184-pounds.”

Maryland’s 125-pounder Brandon Cray hasn’t had much success in the dual season entering his bout with Foley. Cray did, however, have one of the best runs out of any Maryland wrestler at the annual Midlands tournament in December. As an unseeded wrestler, Cray knocked off two seeded wrestlers and came up one victory short of placing in the tournament.

“It’s a great opportunity for him,” McCoy said. “I’m excited to see him get out there and compete against a good guy.”

A common theme among the Terps duals this season has been a slow start by the lightweights, which needs to change if they want to start picking up team wins.

“Being at the beginning of a dual you’ve got to do what you can to get a win,” 133-pounder Orion Anderson said. “We’ve got to set a good tone for the match.”

Both 174-pounder Josh Ugalde (hamstring) and 149-pounder Ryan Diehl (undisclosed) are progressing with their injury rehabilitation and McCoy acknowledged that Ugalde is closer to returning than Diehl.

“Josh we’re hoping will go this weekend,” he said. “Ryan is still working his way back.”

Maryland knows that its dual season has been a slog so far, but isn’t ready to call Sunday’s tilt a must-win. The wrestlers maintain a long-term focus, with McCoy adopting the mantra that “everything is practice for the NCAA tournament.”

“It’d be awesome if we did win,” Anderson said, “but we’re also putting in these hours of work for NCAAs.”