Preview: No. 23 Maryland men’s basketball looks to remain undefeated against Coppin State

No. 23 Maryland men’s basketball (5-0) looks to remain undefeated as the Terps take on Coppin State (3-4) in College Park on Friday.

Maryland took home the 2022 Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Championship title with two compelling wins over Saint Louis and Miami, which propelled the Terps into the latest AP Poll. New coach Kevin Willard achieved the best start to a coaching career in program history, but doesn’t appear to be satisfied yet. 

“We’re really not worried about signature wins or where we are,” Willard said. “I think we still have a long way to go. We’re good, we have great players but they’re still trying to learn this system, they’re still trying to get comfortable.” 

The Terps lit it up from three and dominated on the glass against Miami. Maryland shot 9-21 from three and earned a plus-19 advantage in rebounds. 

“I knew going in that I thought we could really hurt them on the offensive glass,” Willard said. “I thought my guard play was outstanding, I thought [Don Carey and Jahmir Young] played off the charts.” 

Forward Donta Scott showed out in both of Maryland’s tournament games, which landed him on the All-Tip-Off Tournament Team. Against Miami, the senior became the 59th Terp to surpass the 1,000 career point mark. 

Scott enters as the Terps’ leading scorer, averaging 16.8 points per game  — eighth-best in the Big Ten. Scott has been extremely efficient all throughout the floor, as his shooting spits through five games is .525/.474/.846.

Forward Julian Reese finished with 17 points on 7-8 shooting against Miami, and chipped in seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal. The sophomore has recorded two blocks in each of his past three games.

Every starter for the Terps hit the double-digit mark in scoring against Miami, and four Terps enter their upcoming matchup with an average of over 10 points per game.

Coppin State is led by a familiar face in College Park. Maryland’s all-time leading scorer, Juan Dixon, is in his sixth season at the helm of the Eagles.

Dixon has his best start since taking over at Coppin State, as the Eagles’ 3-4 mark is their best since the 2013-14 season. However, the Eagles have lost back-to-back games.

Like the Terps, the Eagles play fast. Per Kenpom, their adjusted tempo rating ranks No. 19 in the nation. With that fast style of play, the Eagles tend to play small ball and struggle to rebound as a result. 

Coppin State has lost the rebounding margin in all but one game this season and loses the battle by an average margin of 10 per game. 

Penn State transfer Sam Sessoms leads the Eagles in scoring and assists per game this season. The senior averages 22 points per game, tied for 15th-best in the nation. Semmo’s 5.7 assists per game leads the Eagles as well.

Sophomore guard Nendah Tarke has been effective on the defensive end for the Eagles, as he leads them in steals per game (2.3) and rebounds per game (5.6), and is tied for second in blocks per game (0.4).

Guard Alex Jones has been Coppin State’s biggest threat from deep this season, as the redshirt junior’s 52% from deep is over 15% higher than any other Eagle.

Maryland and Coppin State have only met once, when the Eagles defeated the Terps in 1989, 70-63.

The game on Friday will start at 4 p.m. and will take place at the XFINITY Center in College Park.