Maryland men’s basketball at No. 23 Virginia preview

Maryland men’s basketball gave No. 2 Michigan all it could muster Saturday night. But an in-game injury and ejection, coupled with two rotation pieces being ruled out prior to tip, hurt the Terps’ chances. Maryland ultimately fell to the Wolverines, 101-83.

Now, after a week’s worth of rest, the Terps will face another ranked opponent — this time away from home — in No. 23 Virginia.

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The Cavaliers have been largely dominant this season, winning all but one game — an 80-73 loss to Butler taints their resume. But Virginia has wins over high-major opponents, including an 83-78 victory over Northwestern and a 88-69 thrashing of Texas.

Saturday’s game will begin at 6 p.m. and air on ESPN.

Virginia Cavaliers (9-1, 0-0 ACC)

2024-25 record: 15-17, 8-12 ACC

Ryan Odom is in his first year as head coach of the program after spending the last two seasons at the helm of VCU. During his tenure with the Rams, Odom’s squad went 52-21 and made an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2025.

Odom has plenty of experience at the head coaching level, including stints at Utah State, UMBC, Lenoir Rhyne and Charlotte. At UMBC, his team notably became the first-ever No. 16-seed in the NCAA Tournament to knock off a No. 1-seed — interestingly enough, that No. 1-seed was Virginia.

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Players to watch

Thijs De Ridder, freshman forward, 6-foot-9, No. 28 — De Ridder is a freshman at 22 years old, and that’s because he’s spent the last few years playing in Europe. From 2023-25, De Ridder played for Bilbao Basket of Liga ACB, and in 2024-25, he averaged 9.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Now, he’s leading the Cavaliers with 16.1 points and six rebounds per game while shooting 42.3% from downtown.

Malik Thomas, graduate student guard, 6-foot-5, No. 1 — Thomas ranks second on the team with 11.8 points per game despite shooting just 41.3% from the field. Thomas previously played at both USC and San Francisco. At the latter program in 2024-25, he was named All-WCC first…

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Publish date : 2025-12-19 11:40:00

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