Maryland basketball vs. St. Bonaventure: preview, how to watch & more

Maryland basketball is set to play its first game outside College Park since the season opener, as the Terps play St. Bonaventure on Friday night in the first round of the Emerald Coast Classic.

It’s not nearly as high-profile a tournament as plenty of others, but Maryland will have its work cut out for it here. The Bonnies enter the weekend ranked 82nd in KenPom, two spots behind Bucknell, dominated Maryland for a half last weekend. With a win, the Terps would be expected to match up against TCU, who sits 22nd and is just outside the AP top 25.

The TCU-New Mexico game will tip off at 7 p.m. ET, while Maryland’s contest will start 30 minutes after that one ends. The listed time is 9:30 p.m., but it could end up stretching later into the night.

Maryland looks to keep the good times rolling.

The Terps are 5-0, with only one scare against Bucknell. Sophomore point guard Anthony Cowan Jr. has taken the reigns and led the team in scoring for the first four games, while freshman center Bruno Fernando posted a team-high 18 against Jackson State.

The one question mark right now surrounds the health of freshman guard Darryl Morsell, who was listed as “day-to-day” with a hamstring strain suffered against Jackson State on Monday. Prior to that first-half injury, Morsell had scored in double-figures in three straight contests. He’s a versatile defender and has been Maryland’s backup point guard for the short spurts without Cowan, so it’s unclear how the Terps will respond if he can’t go.

St. Bonaventure might or might not get its best player back for this.

The Bonnies, like Maryland, have convincing wins over Jackson State and Maryland-Eastern Shore. But St. Bonaventure’s season-opening contest was a 77-75 loss against Niagara. This will be the Bonnies’ first game away from home this year.

St. Bonaventure was one of the favorites in the Atlantic 10 at the start of the season, with the duo of Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley returning after averaging nearly 40 combined points in 2016-17. Adams, though, has been sidelined for the first three games with a sprained ankle. He’s listed as questionable for Friday night.

In his absence, Mobley has been a one-man wrecking crew, averaging 25 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists in over 36 minutes per game. But against a team as deep as Maryland, the Bonnies will need their supporting cast to step up. That includes the likes of freshman forward Tshiefu Ngalakulondi (23 points in the last two games) and junior guard Nelson Kaputo (33 points across all three).

The numbers

Maryland: 5-0

St. Bonaventure: 2-1

All-time series: first meeting

Odds: Maryland is favored by nine points

How to watch and listen

Friday, Nov. 24, ~9:30 p.m. (ET), The Arena at Northwest Florida State College, Niceville, Florida

TV: CBS Sports Network - Brad Johansen (Play-by-Play), Steve Lappas (Analyst), Gary Parrish (Sideline)

Streaming: CBSSports.com

Radio: 105.7 FM (Balt.), 980 AM (DC), Sirus (137) / XM (193) - Chris Knoche (Play-by-Play), Troy Wainwright (Analyst)