By Jerry Ratcliffe
A familiar face, Buzz Williams, will be making his second visit to John Paul Jones Arena in two years tonight, but this time with a different team.
Williams is now the coach at Maryland (6-5), which will face No. 23 Virginia (9-1) this evening for a 6 p.m. tip (ESPN). Last year, Williams brought his Texas A&M squad to JPJ in the ACC/SEC Challenge, won easily by the Cavaliers. Williams, of course, is the former head coach at Virginia Tech.
UVA is coming off an 11-day exam break, so it’s anyone’s guess what to expect from the Cavaliers, who have delivered a mix of results in past years coming out of the break, anything from rusty to red hot.
Former coach Jeff Jones said this week that Virginia coach Ryan Odom used the extended period to advance his team’s overall quality.
“It’s a time where it’s imperative for good teams with aspirations to make some improvement,” Jones said on “The Hootie & JJ Show,” … click here to listen to the complete podcast, which gives a behind-the-curtains look at the Cavaliers. “I know Ryan’s looking to do that. There will be some (subtle) wrinkles that people have not seen. Coaches are not standing pat (before conference play begins). They’re looking to stay ahead of the scouting reports. It’s time to play big-boy basketball.”
Virginia is 6-0 at home and has won eight of the last nine meetings with the Terps, former members of the ACC. The Cavaliers are averaging 87.1 points, the second-most in school history (89.8 in 1954-55) and have scored 80 or more points in nine games, the most since the national championship season in 2018-19.
Maryland comes to town having lost four of its last five games, and the Terps are giving up points like a sieve: Michigan (101-83), Gonzaga (100-61), Alabama (105-72), Iowa (83-64).
Maryland is led by 6-foot-9 Pharrel Payne (17.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and point guard David Colt (14.8 ppg, 46.5 percent from deep). The Terps also feature Elijah Saunders, who was Virginia’s second-leading scorer last season under Ron Sanchez.
The Terps will have to deal with Virginia’s shooters and a physical frontcourt. UVA is averaging 27.5 3-point attempts per game, the most in program history, and is 13th in the nation in 3-point percentage (40 percent). The Cavaliers also are 23rd in the country in offensive rebounding (14.5) and rebound margin (10.2), and 24th in rebounds (42 per game). In addition, Virginia is No. 3 nationally in blocked shots (7.1 per game), with Johann Grünloh at No. 9 with 2.9 per outing and Ugonna Onyenso at No. 11 in the country with 2.8 per game.
Virginia hasn’t played Maryland since the 2018-19 campaign, when the Cavaliers defeated the Terps, 76-71, at College Park.
UVA will host American on Monday night (6 p.m., ACC Network) in the final tuneup before ACC play begins.
Tickets are available for both games, on sale at uvatix.com.
