After dispatching Cleveland State on Saturday, the Maryland mens' basketball team will travel to Chapel Hill to take on No. 9 North Carolina. A win at the Dean Smith Center would give the Terps back-to-back 7-0 starts for the first time since 1975.
The Terps' once again got out to a slow start against Cleveland State on Saturday and were only up four at halftime, but pulled away in the second half to win 80-63. Robert Carter Jr. led the team with 17 points and 8 rebounds, and Jared Nickens added a season high 16 points off the bench.
The Tar Heels enter the game well rested, having not played since defeating Kansas State 80-70 to win the CBE Hall of Fame Classic on Nov.24. North Carolina started the season as the number one team in the country, but dropped to ninth after losing 71-67 at Northern Iowa on Nov. 21. They have played up to this point without senior guard Marcus Paige, who broke his hand before the season started, but he is expected to make his season debut against the Terps on Tuesday.
Maryland has lost eight straight games against the Tar Heels, and haven't won in Chapel Hill since January 19, 2008, when Bambale Osby's go ahead layup with 21 seconds left gave the Terps an 82-80 win over the No. 1 ranked Heels.
The numbers:
No. 2 Maryland 6-0
No. 9 North Carolina 5-1
All-time series: North Carolina leads 122-57
KenPom projection: North Carolina 78, Maryland 71. The Terps have a 25 percent chance of winning.
How to watch:
Dec. 1, 9:30 p.m. (EST) Chapel Hill, North Carolina
TV: ESPN
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Maryland Sports Radio Network, WMUC Sports
Odds:
The Terps opened as a 7-point underdog, but that line has moved to 6 points.