Maryland Announces Men's Basketball 2016-17 Schedule
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Head coach Mark Turgeon announced the Maryland men's basketball team's 2016-17 schedule.
The Terps will welcome Big Ten foes Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State, Rutgers, Indiana, Michigan State, Nebraska and Purdue to XFINITY Center as it embarks on its third season in the conference. A total of 10 teams on this year's schedule competed in postseason play a year ago, including eight that participated in the NCAA Tournament.
Maryland opens Big Ten play at home with a pair of games against Illinois (Dec. 27) and Nebraska (Jan. 1) before hitting the road for its first away tilt at Michigan (Jan. 7). The Terps return to College Park for a matchup with Indiana (Jan. 10) and then travel to Illinois (Jan. 14) and Iowa (Jan. 19). Michigan, Indiana and Iowa all earned berths to the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Indiana won the Big Ten regular season title last season.
After welcoming Rutgers for a midweek contest on Jan. 24, the Terps head back on the road for a two-game stretch at Minnesota (Jan. 28) and at Ohio State (Jan. 31).
Maryland welcomes Purdue Feb. 4 before trekking to Penn State Feb. 7. Ohio State pays a visit to XFINITY Center Feb. 11 and then the Terps head to Northwestern (Feb. 15) and Wisconsin (Feb. 19). Wisconsin advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in 2016 after falling in the national title game in 2015.
The Terps play three of their last four games at home including Minnesota (Feb. 22), Iowa (Feb. 25) and a Senior Day battle versus Michigan State (March 5). The Spartans captured the 2016 Big Ten tournament crown a year ago.
Maryland's final road contest of the regular season is at Rutgers on Feb. 28.
The non-conference slate features home tilts against Pitt and Oklahoma State in addition to a road test at the Verizon Center versus Georgetown and a trip to the Barclay's Classic in Brooklyn.
Maryland begins competition with an exhibition on Nov. 5 against Catawba College before welcoming local foe American University on Nov. 11 in the Terps' home opener at XFINITY.
The rivalry resumes on Nov. 15 as the Terps make the short trip to Washington, D.C., for a battle with Georgetown at the Verizon Center in the second annual Gavitt Games. The Terps topped the Hoyas, 75-71, in the first meeting between the two storied programs in College Park in 42 years at XFINITY Center last season.
After a midweek matchup with St. Mary's College of Maryland on Nov. 17, Maryland takes on Towson in another game with local flavor on Nov. 20 at XFINITY and welcome Stony Brook on Nov. 22. The Seawolves won a program-record 26 games a year ago and made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament before bowing out to Kentucky in the first round.
Maryland will make another trip to the Big Apple when it competes in the Barclays Classic on Nov. 25 and 26 in Brooklyn. The Terps will face Richmond on Friday while Boston College and Kansas State will square off on the other side of the bracket. The winners and losers of each game will battle in the championship and consolation on Saturday. It will mark the third time that the Terps will play at the Barclays Center (vs. Kentucky - Nov. 9, 2012 and vs. UConn - Nov. 8, 2013). The Terps defeated UConn, 76-66, in the Jimmy V Classic last December at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Maryland returns to the friendly confines of the XFINITY Center when it welcomes Pitt for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Nov. 29. Maryland is tied for the third-most wins all-time in the Challenge, collecting 10 victories since its inception in 1999.
The Terps remain in College Park for the next four contests including games against Big 12 power Oklahoma State (Dec. 3), Howard (Dec. 7), Saint Peter's (Dec. 10) and Jacksonville State (Dec. 12).
Maryland will return to Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore for a second consecutive season as it caps its non-conference schedule with a matchup with Charlotte on Dec. 20. The Terps defeated Princeton, 82-61, in front of more than 11,000 fans last December. The Terps are 10-2 all-time in Charm City, including a streak of six consecutive wins.
Maryland finished the 2015-16 season ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press and No. 12 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll with a 27-9 overall record, marking the first time in program history the Terps have put together back-to-back 27-plus win seasons.
The Terrapins also led the Big Ten and ranked fifth nationally in attendance in 2015-16, averaging 17,863 fans per game. Maryland welcomed a top-15 ranked recruiting class in 2016, its fifth consecutive nationally-ranked recruiting class under Turgeon.
The Big Ten Network announced Wednesday that four non-conference games versus American, Stony Brook, Oklahoma State and Saint Peter's will appear on the network. All other game times and television broadcast designations will be announced at a later date.