Game tips at 7:00 on ESPNU. No kosher stream tonight that I know of, but as always I'm sure if you look in the right places you can find some streams of questionable legality, if that's your sort of thing.

Random, Baseless Prediction: There's another "why doesn't he play more?" performance from Mychal Parker. I'm feeling 5 points, a steal, three rebounds, and solid defense. The Mych bandwagon doubles afterwards.

Prediction: The real question here isn't "Will Maryland beat Clemson?" so much as it is "Has Maryland finally turned the corner?" Or, at least, that's the false choice with which I'll frame this section of the post. And my answer: not sure, but I think they have, so they gut out a close one. People start to talk about the NCAA Tournament again, perhaps foolishly.

Guessing game: Give me Terrell Stoglin's total of points plus made three pointers (21 points + 4 made threes = 25) with number of ill-advised, early-in-the-shot-clock three point attempts as the tiebreaker.

Saturday matinee upset? Saturday matinee upset.

Game is on ESPN, tipping at 4:00. That should mean basically everyone can watch it; your only other kosher option is going to be ESPN3. I'm sure some other streams will pop up after a bit, of course. For the news-y side of things, sounds like Harrison Barnes is good to go; he was fine after today's shoot-around. Hopefully he'll at least be limited.

Random, Baseless Prediction: Maryland's second-leading scorer tonight: Ashton Pankey. Nick Faust is third, FWIW. So something either went very right or very wrong.

Prediction: A lot like the Duke game: Maryland isn't the better team and almost certainly won't win, though I can still think of a path to victory. (It involves Harrison Barnes and Kendall Marshall both not playing, though.) Anyway, Heels by 11.

Guessing game: Pe'Shon Howard points plus assists, with turnovers as the tiebreaker. My volley: 11, with 2 TOs. Go.

Who's up for a conceivable upset road win? I know I am. Game tips at 8:00 on ACC Network, so check your local listings. If it isn't on in your area, you'll be able to watch on ESPN3 (blackout) and TheACC.com. That should cover everyone.

Today kinda sucked on the football side. So we turn our hopes and dreams to the roundball. A loss would make today ... well, even more awful. Save us, basketball.

Random, Baseless Prediction: Pe'Shon Howard has his breakout game. At least 15 points, 5 assists, no more than 3 turnovers. Just because.

Prediction: In my heart of hearts, I don't think Maryland will win this one. But I can't bear to predict a loss. Not today. The streak breaks, somewhat unexpectedly, thanks to a surprisingly good performance from Alex Len and superior guard play.

And a guessing game, because we haven't had one in some time: let's look at James Padgett, who's been a bit underrated lately. Points plus offensive rebounds, please, with minutes played as the tiebreaker.

Game tips at 2:30 and will be on ACC Network, so it may or may not be on in your area - check your local listings. If it isn't, it'll be on ESPN3, assuming you get ESPN3. Side note: Maryland is now the worst team in the country in creating steals. Vaunted defense there. (Oh, and StatSheet's latest NIT projection (yes, I know) has Maryland getting in as an eight seed, in case you were interested. So it looks like they're on the bubble there for now.)

Random, Baseless Prediction: Pe'Shon Howard owns the fast break today. Not sure how Maryland gets on the fast break, but once they do Pe' drops a reverse layup and a behind-the-back, no-look dime to Nick Faust. Faust, for his part, doesn't take four steps.

Prediction: Maryland makes their stand here. A big day from James Padgett and an understated defensive performance from Sean Mosley gets Maryland the result.

Game tips at 9:00, but the Gary ceremony begins around 8:40ish. If you're wondering if you can see it on TV: Louisville-Villanova is on ESPN before the Maryland game, but I've been told the ESPN3 link will go live a half-hour before the game starts. So that may be where you can see it.

Anyway, game is on ESPN on the real 'tube, at least once Nova and the Ville finish things up. TV crew is Dan Shulman and Bobby Knight, and I literally couldn't have asked for a better combo, short of Uncle Verne somehow working his way in there.

Random, Baseless Prediction: Nick Faust goes 2-3 from beyond the arc, but the one that misses gets stuck between the rim and backboard. I don't believe we have a name for that.

Prediction: Like I said earlier, Duke will win this game. But we're a Maryland sports blog and this is basically our Super Bowl - not just because it's home against Duke, but because it's Gary's game. So I'm calling for the epic upset win.

Ridiculously early start at 11:00, but I sort of like it. Give you the rest of the day to dedicate to other things, like the USMNT - who, by the way, will be playing quite a few Terps in their roster tonight vs. Venezuela. Anyway, game is on ESPNU. The Terps game, not USMNT.

Random, Baseless Prediction: Maryland will have an alley-oop in this game, and the receiver will be ... James Padgett? That sounds random and baseless enough.

Prediction: Everything about this game to me is screaming "Maryland shows that they can win, loses their cool, and Temple wins by 7 or so." But maybe they've learned something from previous struggles. My real, head-based prediction is what I said earlier; but screw it, this is the GameThread, so I'll say Terps by 4. And immediately following, a sizable debate about whether this team is NCAA Tournament-good.

Oh, and the guessing game for tonight: we'll return to Alex Len, because I think it's pretty conceivable that he gets shut out (again) or returns to form with a strong performance. Variability is what makes these fun. So give me points + rebounds with minutes as the tie-breaker.

I have a feeling we're about to find out a lot about this team. Game tips at 9:00 in Tallahassee, and it'll be on ESPNU. Preview is here.

Random, Baseless Prediction: Feeling a Mychal Parker dunk coming on tonight. Not sure he does anything else of note, but with the amount of turnovers we'll see in this one he might be able to break loose on a fast break.

Prediction: I can't force myself to believe Maryland has all that much of a chance in this one. I don't think Florida State is that good and they'll probably be a bubble team at the end of the year, but they're riding high and look confident. And, truthfully, even if the Noles aren't very good, they're better than Maryland. The only situation I can see in which the Terps have a shot is if Terrell Stoglin plays out of his mind - and that's possible, but not likely. FSU wins, 61-54.

For today's guessing game, we return to Pe'Shon Howard: what's his combined total of points and assists (3 points + 4 assists = 7), with turnovers as the tiebreaker? Go.

First of all: no Ravens and/or NFL talk. Please.

Now: game tips at 4:00, with ACC Network as TV. If you don't have an ACC Network affiliate (and you might be surprised) you can watch on ESPN3 or check the usual streaming locations, like FirstRowSports.

Random, Baseless Prediction: Alex Len fouls out, but has the best game of his career otherwise. I feel like it's time for an Alex Len national breakout after the pretty unimpressive Wake game, and I don't think GT has the size to consistently bother him.

Prediction: It's so tough to really assess this game. Maryland is probably a superior team to Georgia Tech and if they played 10 times in a vacuum, Maryland would win 6 or 7 of them. But life isn't a vacuum, and Georgia Tech is playing over their heads. I'll go with my gut and say Maryland just barely nips this one, somewhere around 76-71.

For today's guessing game: with Terrell Stoglin injured, there might be an extra onus put back on our ol' friend Nick Faust. Give me how many points he scores tonight, with number of minutes + airballs as the tiebreaker (22 minutes + 2 airballs = 24). Go.

Game tips at 7:00 on CSN+ or ESPN3 - but El Tres viewers will be blacked out if it's on TV in their area. So check your local listings, as always. If you missed the preview, the blogger Q&A, or the gameday guide, well, they're linked right there.

Random, Baseless Prediction: Okay, perhaps it isn't really baseless, but it is sort-of random. Ashton Pankey seems to oscillate between really good and really bad performances, and given that he's been basically invisible in recent games, I'm basically randomly picking this as his bounce-back game. 10 points and 5 boards or so.

Prediction: This isn't going to be an easy game, but Maryland is probably the better team, even if only by thismuch. Add in home court advantage, and the Terrapins should have a bit of a cushion here. I'm guessing they'll come prepared - ACC home opener, after all - and keep things from being too worrisome. Terps able to push the pace, and win 71-65.

For today's guessing game, let's turn to the tortue du jour, Mychal Parker. This is a pretty tough assessment, given that I wouldn't be surprised if didn't see the floor, but the general consensus is that playing time is building. So, give me his combined total for points and boards, with minutes played as the tiebreaker.

It has arrived. ACC basketball is back, and I for one couldn't be happier. Let's do it.

The game tips off at 6:00, but the programming starts off at 5:30 with ESPNU's ACC preview. I'm not really that interested in hearing Hubert Davis and Andy Katz telling us things we already know, but if it's your cup of tea the thread will be open for that.

As a quick sidenote, the ACC opening weekend has been pretty crazy: Miami was a botched open lay-up away from beating #23 Virginia on the road; Georgia Tech was a few missed free throws away from beating #3 Duke in Atlanta; and expected ACC bottom-dwellers Clemson and Wake Forest won their opening games over Florida State and Florida State.

In short, the ACC is a mess. The good news, so long as you aren't Duke or UVA, is that it looks like there's only one elite team in the conference, and there's a hodge-podge of everyone else in some rough order. Bad news is, I feel like Maryland is more likely to succumb to the craziness than they are to benefit from it, at least this year.

Guess we'll get a good idea today.

Random, Baseless Prediction: Nick Faust has more made threes than airballs.

Prediction: Sticking with my earlier call. Maryland gets a run late in the first half, but it's never really in doubt. State by double-digits.

For today's guessing game, let's return to Alex Len in his first ACC game ever. As per usual, points + boards with minutes played as a tiebreaker. I'll say 21 (11 and 10) in 29 minutes.