Previewing Thursday Night’s Games: Could Charleston Test Maryland?

After Tuesday night’s scare from a game Rhode Island squad, No. 4 Pittsburgh takes on Illinois-Chicago in the Panthers second game in three days.  No. 16 Illinois and No. 25 Texas also take the floor as ranked teams for the second time in three nights, as does unranked Maryland. The Longhorns might’ve been the most impressive team on Tuesday night after rolling Navy. The Illini played one great half on Tuesday and then watched as their lead neared single digits in the second half against UC Irvine. Maryland might be in for the toughest test tonight.  Remember, Charleston upset North Carolina early last season on its way to a 22-12 record and trip to the CBI Tournament. Even with that, the Tar Heels weren’t very good last season and the Mocs were very inconsistent against good teams. In other games against top teams, they lost to Clemson by 39 and Tennessee by 17. There is some good news though. The Mocs return leading scorer Andrew Goudelock (19.4 PPG) and four of ...