Virginia Basketball to Play Maryland on December 20th in Charlottesville

The news of the four-game home-and-home series was first announced back in September of 2024, as Virginia will host the series during the 2025-26 and 2027-28 seasons at John Paul Jones Arena, while Maryland will host at College Park in 2026-27 and 2027-28. 

Since the initial announcement, a lot has changed, with Ryan Odom becoming the new head coach of Virginia basketball and Buzz Williams, who previously coached at Texas A&M, being hired as the new head coach for Maryland after Kevin Willard left for Villanova. 

"Maryland and Virginia have a long basketball history, and we're excited to bring this series back to life," said former Maryland head coach Kevin Willard when the series was initially announced in 2024. 

The Cavaliers and Terrapins used to have an annual border battle on the hardwood up until 2014, when Maryland departed for the Big 10 after spending the last 62 years in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Since the Terps left, the two schools have faced off only twice in basketball in the Big 10/ACC Challenge. 

The last time was in 2018, when Virginia claimed a 76-71 victory over Maryland in College Park. Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome led the win, scoring 18 and 17 points, respectively. 

For highlights of Virginia's win back in 2018:

Maryland has a 107-76 advantage over Virginia in the series, which began in 1913. Despite the overall series score, recently, Virginia has had the upper hand as the Hoos have won eight of the last nine meetings. 

The contest in December will also see Elijah Saunders return to Charlottesville. The former Virginia power forward spent one season at Virginia, where he averaged 10.4 points and five rebounds while shooting 42% from the field. Maryland is Saunders's third school in three years, as he left the Hoos shortly after Ryan Odom was named as the new head coach of Virginia basketball. 

Maryland comes off a dominant season that saw the Terrapins earn a four seed in the NCAA Tournament and make it to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016. Despite the success, with Willard's departure and Williams's arrival, it's a whole new team in College Park led by a few Texas A&M players who led the Aggies to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 

As for the Cavaliers, they also will feature a new roster with German big-man Johann Grünloh, San Francisco transfer Malik Thomas, BYU transfer Dallin Hall, and UC Irvine transfer Devin Tillis leading the charge. The team also features incoming four-star recruit Chance Mallory, and three-star commit Silas Barksdale. 

The contest will be a strong early test for Virginia before rolling into ACC play. The Maryland game on December 20th is the third confirmed game on Virginia's non-conference schedule. The Hoos will also compete in the Greenbrier Tip-Off on Friday, November 21st, and Sunday, November 23rd, and face off against either Butler, Northwestern, or South Carolina. 

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