The Maryland Terrapins and No. 6 Virginia Cavaliers are set to face off Friday night, going head-to-head in College Park. The nonconference showdown will tip off at 8 p.m. ET on Peacock.
Virginia is a 5.5-point road favorite, and the total has been set at 151.5 points. The Cavaliers have -238 moneyline odds, while the Terps’ odds are sitting at +195. Here is a preview of the Big Ten vs. ACC matchup featuring odds and lines from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Maryland Terrapins vs. Virginia Cavaliers Preview
Maryland Preview
After cruising to a season-opening blowout over Bucknell, the Terrapins fell flat against Georgetown to the tune of an 86-74 loss. While the loss did come on the road, this is the same Hoya team that trailed Delaware State by 10 at the half and only won by five on Tuesday. Maryland sits at 1-1 in Buzz Williams’ second season at the helm, coming off his 12-21 debut campaign in College Park. His tenures at both Virginia Tech and Texas A&M started slow too, for what it’s worth, plus his Terps have already managed to beat Georgia Tech by 15 and West Virginia in overtime in a pair of preseason exhibitions.
Big man Pharrel Payne is back after only playing 10 games last season, and he hasn’t missed a beat. He is averaging 20.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game so far this year, leading Maryland in scoring while ranking second in rebounding. New Mexico transfer forward Tomislav Buljan is putting up 8.5 boards a night after leading the Mountain West with 10.3 per game last season. And although his 3-point percentage has dipped from 34.6% last year to 30.8% so far this year, guard Andre Mills is averaging 15.5 points per game. Arkansas transfer guard DJ Wagner is averaging 10.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, with Boston University transfer guard Mike McNair Jr. rounding out the starting lineup after winning the 3-point shooting crown in the Patriot League last season.
The Terrapins come in at No. 51 in T-Rank, No. 60 in BPI and No. 62 in KenPom. Per KenPom, they boast the No. 49 opponent-adjusted offensive rating and the No. 79 opponent-adjusted defensive rating in Division I. While Maryland is allowing the second-fewest rebounds per game in the nation, they rank No. 359 in both 3-point percentage and 3-point percentage against.
Virginia Preview
The Cavaliers have played twice as many games as the Terrapins through less than two weeks of action, starting the season off 4-0. That record includes comfortable wins over Drexel, Northeastern and Bucknell, as well as a 19-point neutral site victory against No. 19 Arkansas. Virginia was only a 3.5-point favorite entering that showdown in Washington, D.C.
Sophomore forward Thijs De Ridder, who is coming off a First Team All-ACC appearance, is averaging 17.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in his second collegiate campaign. Sharpshooting wing Sam Lewis is also back with 15.0 points per game this season and a 41.6% career 3-point percentage. 5-foot-10 guard Chance Mallory has earned a spot in the starting lineup after coming off the bench as a freshman, making good on his new role with 14.8 points and 5.0 assists and a 43.5% 3-point percentage on 5.8 attempts per game. Sophomore 7-footer Johann Grünloh is also back from last year’s team and averaging an ACC-best 2.8 blocks per game to go along with his 13.0 points and 6.5 rebounds a night. Virginia has another German in their starting lineup, with freshman Nolan Adekunle averaging 8.8 points per game on 72.7% effective field goal percentage. Even the bench has plenty of continuity between guard Elijah Gertrude and wing Martin Carrere, while UC Irvine transfer guard Jurian Dixon and St. Louis transfer forward Kalu Anya have yet to make much of an impact.
Virginia currently slots in at No. 5 in T-Rank, No. 10 in KenPom and No. 22 in BPI. They have the No. 11 offensive rating and No. 15 defensive rating, according to KenPom’s model. The Cavaliers also average the ninth-most steals and 31st-most blocks per game in the country, on top of hitting the 26th-most 3-pointers at a 36.2% clip.
Maryland vs. Virginia Pick, Best Bet
Interestingly enough, the two teams already have a common opponent – Bucknell, who Maryland beat by 29 and Virginia beat by 34. The two squads also faced off in 2025, with the Cavaliers winning by eight in Charlottesville. Their previous meeting was all the way back in 2018 – a 76-71 Virginia win in College Park – although both coaching staffs have turned over twice since then. The Cavaliers are 9-1 against the Terrapins over their last 10 meetings, with six of those nine wins coming by more than 5.5 points.
Maryland’s Achilles heel so far has been hitting and limiting shots from beyond the arc, albeit off of a small sample size. Virginia, while far from the most efficient team from deep, is at least shooting a high volume of triples and hitting them at an above-average percentage. Of the top 39 teams in T-Rank, the Cavaliers own the eighth-highest 3-point rate. That, plus their top-25 turnover rate differential and Maryland ranking No. 240 in their own turnovers per game, could open the door to some decisive Virginia runs. After notching a massive win against a ranked team last week, the Cavaliers have a clear path towards dominating a Terrapin team that is still figuring things out.
