No. 21 Maryland (2-0) vs. Vermont (1-0)
November 13, 2021
XFINITY Center
2:00 pm EDT
COLLEGE PARK, MDÂ -Â The No. 21 Maryland men's basketball team is set to play its third game in five days to open the season as it welcomes Vermont to College Park Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. tip on B1G+.Â
The Terps are looking to jump out to a 3-0 start for the eighth consecutive season.
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VERMONT STORYLINES
STARTING OFF WITH A BANG
- The Terrapins moved to 2-0 on the young season with a 71-64 victory against local foe George Washington Thursday night. Junior Qudus Wahab led the way with a monstrous 18 points and career-high 15 boards, while Fatts Russell hit a dagger three-pointer in the final minute and finished with 15 points. Said Russell postgame: "I'm a big shot taker and a big shot maker. I've done it my whole career." Wahab was the first Terp with at least 18/15 since Jalen Smith (22/19) at Northwestern on Feb. 18, 2020.
- Qudus Wahab scored 17 points in his Maryland debut Tueday night and 18 against George Washington, becoming the first player to score 17+ in each of his first two games at Maryland since Steve Francis in 1998. He is looking to become the first Terp since Jordan Williams to score 17+ points in three straight games to open a season.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
- Maryland has been dominant at home since the start of 2017-18, collecting a 59-13 (.819) overall record.
- The program's 59Â wins during that span are the most in the Big Ten Conference. The Terrapins lost an uncharacteristic six games at home last season without fans in the building due to COVID-19.
AYALA JOINS 1000 POINT CLUB
- Senior Eric Ayala became the 58th player in Maryland history to record 1,000 career points with his sixth point against Quinnipiac Tuesday night.
- He is the seventh player to achieve the feat in Mark Turgeon's tenure, joining Dez Wells, Jake Layman, Melo Trimble, Darryl Morsell and Aaron Wiggins. Ayala finished the game with 13 points and eight rebounds.
TURGEONÂ AT THE HELM
- Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon is IN his 11th season at the helm for the Terrapins, having led the program to six of the last seven NCAA Tournaments (counting 2019-20 COVID season).
- The Terrapins have finished in the top-5 of the Big Ten Conference in seven seasons in the league, while posting a .689 overall win percentage during that span - tied for 3rd in the conference
- Turgeon added a pair of new assistant coaches in the offseason, Danny Manning and Bruce Shingler.
- Manning needs no introduction as one of college basketball's all-time greatest players, having led Kansas to a pair of Final Fours and the 1988 NCAA Championship. Turgeon was the Jayhawks' point guard in 1987 and was a graduate assistant when Kansas won the title in 1988. Manning was the 1988 college player of the year, a two-time All-American, the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft and a two-time NBA All-Star.
- Shingler is a Prince George's County native and grew up across the street from campus in the Lakeland Community. He spent the last five seasons at South Carolina, where he helped lead the Gamecocks to the 2017 Final Four.
TRANSFERS READY TO MAKE AN IMPACT
- The prize of Mark Turgeon's transfer portal success this offseason was the addition of Georgetown forward Qudus Wahab, who was ranked the No. 3 overall transfer of the offseason by CBS Sports. The 6-11 junior reached double-figures in 19-of-26 games last season and led the Hoyas in rebounds (8.2), double-doubles (8) and blocks (1.6) en route to capturing the Big East Tournament title. Wahab is on the watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.
- Graduate guard Fatts Russell transferred from Rhode Island where he appeared in 119 games, totaling 1594 points and becoming the program's all-time leader in steals (213). He was named both Atlantic 10 First Team All-Conference and All-Defense. Russell added 13 pounds from the time he joined the program to the start of the season.
- Graduate guard Xavier Green is in his sixth year of college basketball and at 25-year-old will be the oldest player in the Big Ten Conference. He appeared in 121 games for Old Dominion, averaging 8.7 points/g. In 2018-19 he was the Conference USA Tournament MVP and was named to the Conference USA All-Defensive Team.
- Sophomore guard Ian Martinez transferred from Utah after a coaching change in the program. The first Costa Rican to every play major Division I college basketball, Martinez averaged 9.7 points over the final six games last season.
- Sophomore forward Pavlo Dziuba transferred from Arizona State after serving as the youngest player in all of college basketball last season (17). He is the first Ukrainian to play at Maryland since No. 5 overall NBA selection Alex Len, who he has a relationship with.
- Graduate forward Simon Wright joined the program as a preferred walk-on after spending the last four seasons at Elon, where he appeared in 110 games (35 starts). Wright double-majored in public health and psychology, and is currently pursuing his master's degree in clinical psychological science.
SERIES HISTORY
- Maryland and Vermont are meeting for the third time in history, with the Terrapins winning the two previous matchups - both in College Park. In the most recent matchup on Nov. 21, 2008, then-sophomore Greivis Vasquez hit a 3-pointer with six seconds remaining to force overtime, before the Terps pulled away for a 15-point win to give Gary Williams his 400th career victory at Maryland.
- Said Vasquez on the shot: "I said, 'They're either going to love me or they're really going to hate me. I'm taking the shot. If I miss it, it's on me."
Click here for this week's game notes.
