No. 21 Maryland (0-0) vs. Quinnipiac (0-0)
November 9, 2021
XFINITY Center
7:00 pm EDT
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -Â The No. 21 Maryland men's basketball team is set to open its 103rd season Tuesday, Nov. 9, as it hosts Quinnipiac in College Park at 7:00 pm. The Terrapins have won 44 consecutive home-openers dating back to 1977-78, and are 8-2 overall in season-openers in head coach
Mark Turgeon's tenure.
 The game will be broadcast on the Maryland Sports Radio Network and streamed on Big Ten Plus.Â
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QUINNIPIAC STORYLINES
EXHIBITION REWIND
- The Terrapins impressed in their final tune-up of the season Fri., Nov. 5, when they defeated Fayetteville State, 89-40, in an exhibition. Maryland shot 55-percent from the floor and were led offensively by freshman Julian Reese, who scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Qudus Wahab (12 points), Fatts Russell (10) and Hakim Hart (10) also reached double-figures in the win.
- Tuesday will mark the first meeting in history between Maryland and Quinnipiac. The Terps are 27-2 all-time against current Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference programs.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
- Maryland fans are set to return to XFINITY Center for an official Maryland men's basketball for the first time since March 8, 2020, when the Terrapins defeated Michigan to claim the Big Ten Championship. The Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments were canceled shortly after. As a result of COVID, no fans were allowed into XFINITY last season due to county regulations.
- Maryland has been dominant at home over the last four seasons, collecting a 57-13 (.814) overall record.
- The program's 57 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.
EXPERIENCED TRIO RETURNS
- The Terrapins are led by senior guard Eric Ayala, who was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection as a junior and was recently ranked the No. 22 overall player in college basketball by CBS Sports. Ayala led the team in scoring last season (15.1 ppg) and played his best basketball in the postseason, averaging 19.0 points and 6.3 rebounds across a pair of Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament games. Ayala is on the watch list for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.
- Junior Donta Scott returns as one of the most formidable forwards in the Big Ten Conference with his outside shooting ability and low-post presence. Scott, who was ranked the No. 49 overall player in the country by CBS Sports, shot 43.8% from 3-pt last season which was the fifth-highest percentage in program history. Scott has appeared in all 62 games (48 starts) over his first two seasons. Scott is on the watch list for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award.
- Junior Hakim Hart appeared in 31 games (19 starts) and slid from shooting guard to point guard for the second half of the season. It was a breakout season for the Philadelphia native, as he averaged 7.1 assists (.452 FG), 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists. Hart jumped onto the scene with a 32-point performance against Saint Peter's, knocking down 5-of-7 3-pt attempts.
TURGEONÂ AT THE HELM
- Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon is set to begin 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.
MIDNIGHT MILE DRAWS RECORD CROWD
- Maryland ceremoniously kicked off the 2021-22 season in the early hours of October 21 when it ran the "Midnight Mile" with more than 1,000 students at the Kehoe Track & Field Complex. It was the most students since the event returned in 2018.
- It marked the 50th year since legendary head coach Lefty Driesell introduced the original "Midnight Mile" to Maryland in 1971 when he had his team run a mile to get a jumpstart on the rest of the teams around the country.
- The event included prizes and giveaways, including two lucky students who won an electric scooter and a trip to an away basketball game with the team this season.
Click here for this week's game notes.
