Preview: Gonzaga vs. Maryland men's basketball game

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs will take on the Maryland Terrapins in their second game at the Players Era Festival on Tuesday evening, 24 hours after squaring off against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Gonzaga is one of 18 teams in the second annual Players Era Festival, which awards $1M in NIL funds to each participating team and an additional $1M to the winning squad. The Zags drew matchups with Alabama and Maryland to begin the event, and will play a third team either on Wednesday or Thursday, depending on how they do in the first two matchups.

These two programs have not squared off in well over a decade, with the last matchup coming on Nov. 28, 2008, when Gonzaga defeated Maryland, 81-59, in the semifinals of the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, FL, behind 22 points from Josh Heytvelt and a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double from Austin Daye.

Maryland is 4-1 on the year heading into their Monday night matchup against UNLV. They are led by new head coach Buzz Williams, who was hired away from Texas A&M to replace Kevin Willard. Willard led the Terps to the Sweet 16 last year, but - while getting ready for their matchup against Florida - it was revealed Willard was planning to take the open head coaching position at Villanova.

The Terps picked up a nice road win over Marquette back on Nov. 15 in what was a return game for Williams to one of his previous coaching stops. Maryland's three other wins are over Coppin State, Alcorn State, and Mount St. Mary's, while their lone loss came at home to an up-and-coming Georgetown program.