Opponent: Navy Midshipmen (1-0)
Location: Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland
Tipoff: 3:00 EST, Friday, November 27
Last matchup: November 9, 2018 — Maryland 78-57
Last game: Maryland defeated Old Dominion 85-67; Navy defeated George Washington 78-71
Line: Maryland -16 per OddsShark
TV: BTN — Wayne Randazzo (play-by-play), Christy Winters-Scott (analyst)
Stream: Fox Sports Go
Radio: Maryland Sports Radio Network (105.7 FM Baltimore, 980 AM D.C., TuneIn Radio App) — Johnny Holliday (play-by-play), Chris Knoche (analyst), Walt Williams (analyst)
What to watch for Maryland: Can upperclassmen continue carrying the freight?
In the Terps’ first game of the season, they were tested as a team without the presence of longtime leader Anthony Cowan Jr. and now-Phoenix Sun Jalen Smith. Nonetheless, they cruised their way to an 85-67 win on the backs of the cornerstone upperclassmen. Eric Ayala, Aaron Wiggins and Darryl Morsell combined to shoot 57.1%, scoring 43 points total. The junior Ayala went a perfect 6-6 from the field and 4-4 from beyond the arc, leading all Terps with 19 points. Losing Cowan Jr. and Smith was a big factor in Maryland being unranked to start the season, but sustained success of the core upperclassmen could easily change that.
What to watch for Navy: Playing with high confidence
Navy coach Ed DeChellis noted confidence as the biggest factor in the Midshipmen’s 78-71 win over George Washington on Wednesday, according to the Capital Gazette’s Bill Wagner. The Midshipmen continue their young season against Maryland with perhaps the most talented team they’ve had in years, with four of their starters scoring in double-digits at a 69.7% shooting clip. Coming off a win surely boosted the talented team’s confidence further and could make it a competitive game against the Terps.
