Virginia (16-6, 6-3 ACC) is tied for third in the ACC standings, while Maryland (17-6, 5-5 ACC) is tied for sixth with NC State. Virginia is looking for its fourth straight win against Maryland and swept the two-game series between the teams last season.
The Cavaliers dominated in a 78-41 win over Clemson Thursday. Virginia’s 37-point win marked the largest margin of victory in an ACC game since Duke beat Maryland, 85-44, on Jan. 24, 2009. Junior Joe Harris (Chelan, Wash.) led UVa with a game-high 21 points and junior Akil Mitchell (Charlotte, N.C.) and freshman Justin Anderson (Montross, Va.) landed in double figures with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
Maryland has a two-game winning streak, posting wins against Wake Forest (86-60) last Saturday and Virginia Tech (60-55) Thursday.
The Terrapins hold a 106-71 advantage over Virginia in a series that dates back to 1912-13. Virginia is 23-60 against Maryland in College Park, including a 4-6 mark at Comcast Center. A win at Maryland would give the Cavaliers their first three-game winning streak in College Park since Jan. 16, 1991-Feb. 4, 1993.
The Cavaliers have held ACC foes under 60 points in eight of nine games and rank second in the nation in scoring defense of 51.5 points per game. Offensively Virginia is averaging 63.2 points per game, shooting 46 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point land.
Harris continues to lead Virginia on offense. Harris ranks sixth in the ACC in scoring at 15.6 points per game and is the only player in the league ranked in the top 10 in 3-point field goal percentage (1st), field goal percentage (8th) free throw percentage (9th). Harris has tallied 20 or more points in five games this season.
Junior Akil Mitchell (Charlotte, N.C.) is averaging a career-high 12.5 points per game, ranks third in the ACC with a career-best nine rebounds per game and is tied for fifth with 1.3 steals per game.
What to look out for—Jake Layman vs Justin Anderson. Anderson dropped Maryland for the Hoos after Gary retired. Anderson attended Montrose Christian High.
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