Had a link sent to me yesterday for a Q&A with Navy basketball coach Billy Lange, which turns out to have some interest to Maryland fans.
No, the in-state schools will not be playing each other this year (though, just like in football, that’s a ready-made matchup that would generate some interest. Not as much as football, obviously, but some).
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Instead, Lange got into some scheduling chatter, and the most relevant portion follows:
We open at Radford who is fresh off an NCAA Tournament berth and could be hoisting a banner that night. We play Mount St. Mary’s at home, George Washington in the BB&T Classic which is before Villanova against Maryland, so that will be a great opportunity for us in front of a big crowd. The whole schedule is going to be challenging. We have Towson again, Penn, Seton Hall and Wofford, all who should have strong seasons.
There have been rumblings of that doubleheader throughout the spring, so it really doesn’t come as much of a surprise. But for all intents and purposes, this validates that combination.
Why? First, Lange should have a pretty good idea of when and where his team is playing. Two, since Lange is a former Villanova assistant under Jay Wright, he probably knows what’s going on in that program. Three, if you’re involved in a neutral-court doubleheader, chances are you’re in the loop for who will be playing.
So let’s go ahead and etch Maryland-Villanova into the Dec. 6 slot on the schedule. That would mean this is what we know for sure about Maryland’s nonconference schedule:
Nov. 23: Maui Invitational (also Arizona, Chaminade, Cincinnati, Colorado, Gonzaga, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin)
Nov. 24: Maui Invitational
Nov. 25: Maui Invitational
Dec. 1: at Indiana
Dec. 6: vs. Villanova in BB&T Classic
With the three-game exempt event, Maryland should have up to a 14-game nonconference schedule. So that leaves nine other games, with nearly all of them virtual certainties to be played at Comcast Center.
—- Patrick Stevens
