COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland wrestling team will be showcased on the national stage as it takes on No. 4 Penn State at the XFINITY Center Thursday night. The match will be broadcast live on BTN and action is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

“It's really exciting," head coach Kerry McCoy said. "One of the things we get from moving to the Big Ten is exposure and this is exposure on the highest level. Penn State has some pretty good guys and this will be a great event with a great atmosphere."  

Leading it off

• Maryland enters Thursday's showdown with Penn State coming off a 26-9 loss to No. 11 Pittsburgh. The Terps will have faced four straight ranked opponents when they take on the Nittany Lions.

• No. 7 Geoffrey Alexander has paced the Terps so far this season with a 5-0 dual mark at 133 pounds. Alexander has not been taken down in any of his five matches and is second on the team with 21 dual points.

• Lou Mascola picked up his second dual win of the season, and his first on the road, when he defeated Pitt's Ronnie Garbinsky at 157 pounds.

How to watch

• Maryland's contest against the Nittany Lions will be the program's first-ever on BTN. To find BTN on your TV provider, use BTN's ChannelFinder here.

• Terp fans can also watch the dual live online on BTN2GO.

• Tickets for the match can be purchased here. Fans are encouraged to arrive early!

Maryland probables

Scouting the Opposition

• No. 4 Penn State is 3-0 so far this season with wins over No. 10 Pittsburgh, No. 12 Lehigh and Clarion. The Nittany Lions are the four-time defending national champions after edging Minnesota last season.

• Matt Brown, a standout at 174 pounds, leads the Nittany Lions as the second-ranked competitor in his weight class. The senior is a two-time All-American and former NCAA runner-up. He is 6-0 so far this season.

• Sophomore Jimmy Gulibon is ranked No. 5 at 133 pounds and will face Geoffrey Alexander in the most high profile bout of the dual. Gulibon was an NCAA qualifer last season and is 6-0 so far this year.

• Cael Sanderson is in his sixth season in State College and has led the Nittany Lions to four straight NCAA team titles. Sanderson holds a 71-10-2 at Penn State and has coached eight individual national champions. Sanderson also won four straight NCAA titles as a collegian and posted a perfect 159-0 career record. Sanderson won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in the 84 kg class. 

Terps ready for the b1gest Show in wrestling

• "That's kind of every wrestler's dream to wrestle in the Big Ten." - Geoffrey Alexander to umterps.com contributer Michael Errigo, who outlined the Terps' exciting move to the Big Ten in his latest piece.

BROWN DELIVERS

• Sophomore Shyheim Brown is 9-1 so far this season and has risen to 11th in TheOpenMat.com's individual rankings. He defeated Pittsburgh's Travis Shaffer his last time out.

• Brown had a breakout campaign last season at 141 pounds. The Pennsylvania native qualified for the NCAA Tournament and rose to as high as No. 8 in the nation. 

myers matters

• Spencer Myers, currently playing for the Maryland football team, will be an anchor in the Terps' lineup. An All-American, Myers has qualified for the NCAA Championships in each of his varsity seasons. He went 24-6 last year and is a two-time ACC Champion.

• Sean Twigg will start for the Terrapins at Pittsburgh in Myers' absence.

hall of fame status

• Head Coach Kerry McCoy was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2014 in July in Stillwater, Okla.

• A two-time national champion at Penn State, McCoy was also inducted into the NACDA/John McLendon Minority Scholarship Foundation Hall of Fame alongside University of Maryland Director of Athletics Kevin Anderson.

• McCoy will be honored before the Terps' dual with Penn State.

New Starters

• Multiple grapplers made their dual-match debut at the Terrapin Duals. Jhared Simmons (125), Daniel Sanchez (141), Justin Alexander (157), Arashdeep Gill (174/184). Rob Fitzgerald (197), Ryan Kail (285) and Sean Twigg (285) all saw action, going a combined 14-4. Fitzgerald has started every match for the Terps this season.

• Six (Simmons, Sanchez, Alexander, Gill, Kail and Twigg) are redshirt freshman.

OPENING STATEMENT

• Freshman Alfred Bannister leads the Terps in wins (15) after his standout performances at a number of open competitions this season. The 141-pounder captured the Wolfpack Open title and finished third at the Bearcat Open and fourth at the Clarion Open.

• Five Terps placed at the Nittany Lion Open, led by Tyler Goodwin's third place finish at 133 pounds. Adam Whitesell finished eighth behind Goodwin while Derrick Evanovich (157, 4th), Toby Hague (157, 7th) and Garrett Wesneski (197, 8th) also placed.

• Wesneski also won a title at the TCNJ Open. Dawson Peck (285) and Shyheim Brown (141) also took home first-place honors.

Strong Slate

• The Terps have already faced three ranked opponents this season; No. 17 Wisconsin, No. 7 Nebraska and No. 11 Pittsburgh.

• Nine of Maryland's 2014-15 opponents finished with the Terps in the top-20 of the 2014 NCAA Championships. Pittsburgh (22nd), Duke (29th), Rutgers (34th), Hofstra (t-40th), Navy (t-40th) and Harvard (58th) rounds out the NCAA team placings.

Enter Eiter

• Former Penn head coach Rob Eiter is in his first season as an assistant coach, joining fifth-year assistant Mike Catullo and volunteer assistant Josh Asper on the coaching staff.

• Eiter produced four All-Americans in his six years at the helm. Eiter also served the Quakers as an assistant for three seasons.

• A 1991 graduate of Arizona State, Eiter's glittering interational credentials are highlighted by an eigth-place finish at the 1996 Olympics Games in Atlanta. Eiter also was a standout international coach, guiding the 1999 United State women's team to a first-place finish at the World Championships.

MARYLAND MAT CHAT Episode 3

• Assistant coach Rob Eiter joins veteren wrestling journalist Jason Bryant to discuss his decorated career and the Terps' season so far in this edition of Maryland Mat Chat. 

Media Madness

• Head coach Kerry McCoy and select Maryland wrestlers faced the cameras at Maryland wrestling's first ever media day on Oct. 7.

• McCoy's discussed a wide variety of subjects at his press conference. His comments can be viewed below.

 -Maryland-