District of Sports: Rivalry week continues for Maryland men’s basketball as Virginia visits

For the second-straight season, regional rivalries are back on the schedule for Maryland men’s basketball.

The Terrapins are back home to face neighboring No. 6 Virginia for the 186th time in a series that began in 1913.

Maryland (1-1) comes off an embarrassing 86-74 loss at Georgetown Nov. 7 that the Hoyas led by nearly thirty at one point. The Terrapins were unable to close out on the Hoyas’ lethal 3-point shooting, with Georgetown connecting on 15-of-30. Maryland attempted 20 from three, making only three.

"We didn’t make enough threes, but I think it’s it’s fluid," Maryland coach Buzz Williams said Thursday. "Why didn’t we make threes, and how did they make so many? I think both of those are connected, and so that’s one of the big lessons that we’ve learned, and it will apply in every game. But it’ll for sure apply tomorrow night because UVA is so good from behind the arc, as well."

The Cavaliers are four games into their season already in less than two weeks, winning all by at least 19 points, including a 91-72 triumph over No. 19 Arkansas Nov. 8 at Capital One Arena. The Hoos shoot 36.6% from three, making the perimeter again a focal point for Williams’ squad, which is last among power conference schools in defending the shot.

"They are really good. They were top 20 in the country last year offensively, top 15 in the country defensively, and they’re better this year than they were last year," Williams said. "A lot of what coach [Ryan Odom] is doing is very similar, but there’s some different attributes. [Thijs De Ridder] is a year older and a year better. Preseason Player of the Year, a year older, a year better, an elite playmaker with an extra burst that makes great decisions with the ball,"

The two have a rare, early season common opponent in Bucknell. Maryland opened its season Nov. 2 with a 29-point win over the Bison, 96-67, while Virginia nearly matched the scoreline, winning 95-61 on Tuesday. The rebounding advantages for each against the Bison were also nearly identical: 54-22 for Maryland, 52-29 for Virginia.

"You’re constantly trying to improve, and how as an organization are you going to disseminate that information? And then, how are you going to execute the improvements? And so, the whole group, not just the players — the staff, everybody, the whole ecosystem — has been diagnosing everything, trying to make improvements on what we’ve seen thus far," Williams said.

Cavaliers reporter Greg Madia of The Daily Progress in Charlottesville joins this edition of District of Sports to break down the matchup, including the Cavaliers’ scoring success, how Odom, in his second season, has made the program his own, and what opportunities exist for Maryland to exploit against Virginia.