The Terps look to bounce back after suffering their first loss of the season.
Maryland men’s basketball welcomes Canisius to Xfinity Center Tuesday for the last leg of its five-game homestand.
The Terps head into the matchup fresh off a heartbreaking 78-74 loss to No. 15 Marquette Friday. Maryland trailed the Golden Eagles by two points with 15 seconds remaining, but DeShawn Harris-Smith could not make two free throws to tie the game.
Tuesday’s game will begin at 7 p.m. and stream on Big Ten Plus.
Canisius Golden Griffins (0-5, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletics Conference)
2023-24 record: 14-18, 8-12 MAAC
First-year head coach Jim Christian and the Golden Eagles have struggled to start the season. Canisius dropped its first five games by an average of 17.8 points per game, including losses to then-No. 10 Arizona, 93-64, and Western Michigan, 92-69.
Christian spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Kent State, helping lead the Golden Flashes to a 2023 NCAA Tournament berth, where they fell to Indiana.
Players to watch
Paul McMillan IV, junior guard, 6-foot-3, No. 34 — McMillan has been a rare bright spot for the Golden Eagles this season. He leads the team in minutes (34.6) and points per game (22.4) by a wide margin. He has also been extremely efficient despite his high usage, shooting 52.1% from the field, 47.8% from three and 78.1% from the free-throw line.
He played at Central Michigan last season, but transferred after starting in just three games.
Tana Kopa, senior guard, 6-foot-6, No. 6 — Kopa transferred in from LIU and has started in all five games this season. He is second on the team with 14.2 points per game and also quite efficient, shooting 44.4% from the field, 45% from three and 71.4% from the free-throw line. He has also been Canisius’ best defender on paper, leading the team with four blocks, while recording five steals.
Dylan Godfrey, sophomore forward, 6-foot-8, No. 7 — Godfrey spent the 2023-24 season at East Los Angeles College, a school that gained notoriety from the Netflix series “Last Chance U: Basketball.” He has started in all five games for the Golden Eagles this season, averaging the third most points (7.2) on the team. He is shooting just 35.1% from the field and 29.6% from three, though.
Strength
Three-point shooting. Led by McMillan and Kopa, Canisius has been one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the MAAC this season. The Golden Eagles rank fifth in the conference in 3-point percentage at 35.6% and second in the conference in total threes made with 47. If there is any avenue for Canisius beating the Terps, it is from the 3-point line.
Weakness
Size. As is the case with many smaller schools, Canisius simply does not have the size to keep up with Maryland. At 6-foot-8, Godfrey is the Golden Eagles tallest starter, but he is averaging just 2.6 rebounds per game. As a team, Canisius is last in the conference in total rebounds (27), offensive rebounds (7) and defensive rebounds (20) per game. It is also second to last in rebounding margin at -10 per game. The Golden Eagles rank last in the MAAC in blocks per game (1.8) as well.
Three things to know
1. Another buy game for the Terps. Tuesday will mark Maryland’s fourth buy game — a game in which a power conference program pays a smaller program to play a one-off, road game — of the season. In its first three, the Terps beat Manhattan, Mount St. Mary’s and Florida A&M by at least 30 points each. Expect a similar result against the Golden Eagles.
2. Figuring out the Reese-Queen dynamic. While former five-star freshman Derik Queen has been phenomenal this season — posting 24 points and seven rebounds against Marquette — his frontcourt mate, Julian Reese, has been everything but. Reese dominated nonconference play last season, averaging 15 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game through the first seven games, but his two points against Marquette marked a new low.
With this game likely to end in a blow out, Tuesday provides a perfect opportunity for head coach Kevin Willard to figure out how to play Queen and Reese together effectively.
3. A get-right game. The Terps are coming off their first loss of the season to Marquette, with a highly-anticipated game against Villanova on deck. Maryland will use Tuesday to correct any mistakes from Friday’s loss and build up some confidence again before taking on the Wildcats.