No. 16 UCLA (8-2)
vs. No. 20 Maryland (8-2)
December 14, 2022
XFINITY Center
9:00 pm ET
COLLEGE PARK, MD - No. 20 Maryland closes out a challenging four-game stretch to open December as No. 16 UCLA visits the XFINITY Center on Wednesday night. After falling on the road at Wisconsin and against No. 7 Tennessee in Brooklyn, Maryland enters this week at No. 20 in the AP Top 25 and No. 17 in the USA Today Coaches Polls dropping seven and four spots, respectively, from last week. Wednesday night's opening tip against the Bruins is slated for 9 p.m., and the game will be televised on FS1. Fans can listen to the Maryland Sports Network (105.7 FM - Baltimore, The TEAM 980 AM - Washington, D.C., One Maryland App) with Voice of the Terrapins Johnny Holliday (play-by-play), Chris Knoche (analyst), and Walt Williams (analyst) calling the action.
In the loss to No. 7 Tennessee, the Terps mounted a furious comeback cutting a 21-point deficit to just a single possession before ultimately falling 56-53 at the Barclays Center on Sunday afternoon.
Wednesday's game against UCLA will mark the third ranked opponent in the last four games. The last time Maryland played such an early season stretch came in 2008-09 when the Terps faced No. 5 Michigan State (W, 80-62), No. 9 Gonzaga (L, 59-81), and No. 21 Georgetown (L, 48-75) to close out November at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando. The last time Maryland played three ranked teams in December was 2020-21: No. 19 Rutgers (L, 60-74), No. 6 Wisconsin (W, 70-64), and No. 16 Michigan (L, 73-84) spread over five games. The only other seasons to play three ranked teams in December overall was 1955-56 (No. 12 Kentucky, No. 11 North Carolina, No. 16 Michigan State) and 2003-04: No. 15 Wisconsin, No. 17 Gonzaga, and No. 1 Florida.
Series History - UCLA
- UCLA leads the all-time series 6-2. Maryland and UCLA have a long history dating to when Hall of Fame Maryland head coach Lefty Driesell famously declared the Terrapins had the 'potential to be the UCLA of the East Coast' when he was introduced as Maryland's head coach in 1969. The teams met for their first home-and-home during the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons when both teams were ranked in the top-5 at the time of the games. UCLA won both games as the No. 1 Bruins edged the No. 4 Terrapins, 65-64 on Dec. 1, 1973, in Westwood. A year later at Cole Field House, No. 3 UCLA beat No. 5 Maryland, 81-75 on Dec. 28, 1974.
- The teams have played four games at neutral sites since with Maryland winning a Top-10 match-up on Nov. 27, 1998, as the No. 5 Terps beat the No. 10 Bruins, 70-54, in Puerto Rico. The last meeting came on Nov. 19, 2007, in Kansas City as part of the College Basketball Experience Classic as the No. 1-ranked Bruins beat Maryland, 71-57.
- The teams played another pair of games in the early 1980s with UCLA beating the Terps 90-57 at Pauley Pavilion on Dec. 29, 1981. Maryland won its first game in the series, upsetting the then-No. 3 Bruins, 80-79, on Dec. 23, 1982, at Cole Field House in double-overtime.Â
Fear the jahmir
- Jahmir Young is closing in on becoming one of 13 active players in the NCAA to post 1,500 career points, 500 rebounds, and 300 assists.
- Entering the season, many questioned Jahmir Young's ability to translate his scoring from C-USA to Power 5 play. Young's response has been a team-best 15.6 points and 3.4 assists per game. To date, he has a pair of 20-point games including a season-high 24 against No. 16 Illinois. In the stretch of Illinois, Wisconsin, and No. 7 Tennessee, he averaged 19.7 points. He is also the fourth-leading rebounder (4.6) and has the fourth-most blocked shots (7) on the team.
- Young is the nation's ninth-ranked active career scorer with at 16.6 point per game average and the 41st ranked player in overall points (1,577). He currently has 503 rebounds and 293 assists.
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Terps Have Four Averaging Double-Figures
- Maryland features four players averaging in double figures so far this season. Led by Jahmir Young's 15.6 points, Donta Scott is just behind at 14.1 per game. Hakim Hart (12.4) and Julian Reese (11.9) round out the quartet.
- Hart, Reese, and Scott are all averaging career-best scoring totals to begin the season.
- The win over Coppin State featured three players scoring 20-or-more points in a game for the first time in 20 years: Julian Reese (24), Hakim Hart (22), and Jahmir Young (21).
- Maryland has a 17.0 scoring margin which ranks 23rd nationally.Â
Scott Reaches 1,000 Points; Eclipses 500 Boards
- Donta Scott became the 59th player in program history to reach 1,000 points in the win over Miami. He scored 24 points in that game and now has 1,067 career points. He is also the 17th Terp to post 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career. Through 104 career games he now has 559 rebounds.
- Darryl Morsell (1,090 points / 510 rebounds / 2018-21) and Anthony Cowan (1,881 points / 508 rebounds / 2017-20) were the most recent Terps to post 1,000/500.
- Scott passed Terrell Stoglin (1,066) in the game against Tennessee. Next on the list at No. 52 is Keith Gatlin (1,087). With eight rebounds on Sunday night, he passed current Houston Rocket Bruno Fernando (558) for 36th all-time.
- Scott was one of 20 players named to the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Watch List as announced by the Basketball Hall of Fame in late October.
- This is Scott's second year on the watch list after also garnering the honor last season. He joins Jalen Smith (2019-20) and Jake Layman (2014-15) as Terps to be recognized.
- Scott ranked as the No. 49 overall player nationally last season.
Maryland One of the Top Producers of 1,000 point scorers
- With Donta Scott reaching the 1,000 point mark for his career earlier this season, Maryland's 59 all-time 1,000 point scorers ranks as the 10th most among all schools and is tied with UCLA.
- The Terps have three 1,000 point scorers on this season's roster but Jahmir Young (1,577 pts) and Don Carey (1,289 points) hit the mark at their previous institutions.
Click here for this week's game notes.
