West Virginia Meets Rival Maryland in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament

West Virginia will have to hunt shots against one of the best Terrapin defenses in 40 years

Birmingham, AL - The West Virginia Mountaineers (19-14) meet the Maryland Terrapins (21-12) in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday with the tipoff set for 12:15 p.m. and broadcasting on CBS.

Maryland solidified its bid to the NCAA tournament following a mid-February win over Purdue and capped off the month by beating nationally ranked Northwestern at home before ending the regular season with road losses against Ohio State and Penn State.

The Terrapins posted a 16-1 home record with the only loss coming to UCLA, 87-60.

Head coach Kevin Willard is in his first season at the helm in Maryland following 12 seasons at Seton Hall where he had the Pirates in the NCAA tournament six of the last seven years. Of note, Willard was a guard at Pitt for two seasons and was 2-1 against the Mountaineers.

“Kevin’s done a great job,” said West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins. “He’s done a great job with what they do offensively. He’s done a great job of putting that team together.”

“I think they’re playing extremely well,” continued Huggins. “I think Kevin’s done a great job of putting them into positions where they can be successful. I think he's done a great job of putting guys into positions that fits them.”

Jan 22, 2023; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Jahmir Young (1) shoots the ball against Purdue Boilermakers forward Caleb Furst (1) during the first half at Mackey Arena / Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

Four Terrapins average double figures with Charlotte transfer guard Jahmir Young leading the team with 16.1 points per game to go with a team-high 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game and boasted a 17.1 ppg scoring average in league play.

Six-foot-eight senior guard Hakim Hart is averaging a career-best 11.5 ppg while averaging 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He went through a six-game stretch averaging 15.3 points per game behind 52.9% from the field, including 48.1% from three-point range.

Donta Scott is averaging 11.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game The senior forward stretches the floor with the three-ball, ranking second on the team in made threes (44), and most recently put in 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the second round of the Big 10 Conference versus Minnesota.

Forward Julian Reese leads the team in rebounds at 7.3 rebounds per game while averaging 11.2 ppg.

“They do a great job of spreading you and making shots,” Huggins.

The Terrapins allowed an average of 63.2 ppg this season, the lowest total since the 1981-82 campaign (58.8 ppg).

“Defensively, from what I saw early and what you watch now, they’re much, much improved, and certainly Kevin deserves credit for that,” said Huggins. They’re rebounding the ball very well. They’re just doing a lot of things right.”

Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

The Mountaineers began Big 12 Conference play 0-5 before battling their way back into an NCAA tournament bid, winning five of the next seven and coming into the weekend having won four of the last six games.

Leading scorer Erik Stevenson has averaged 22 points in the last seven games. The senior guard started the stretch producing 23 or more points in five consecutive games, becoming the first WVU player to do so since Wil Robinson in 1972. Only five WVU players have done this in school history -- Stevenson, Robinson, Jerry West, Rod Thorn, and Hot Rod Hundley.

Forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. ended the strong after battling injuries early in conference action. The senior averaged 13.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in the last 10 games.

Tre Mitchell is second on the team in scoring at 11.6 ppg and leads a team effort in rebounding with 5.5 rpg. The senior forward ended a five-game slump of missing double figures with a 22-point outing in a win over Oklahoma State and went for another 20 in the following game at Kansas near the end of February.

Senior guard Kedrian Johnson is averaging a team-best 3.2 assists per game and is third on the team in scoring at 11.2 ppg.

West Virginia holds a 24-14 all-time record over Maryland. The two teams last met in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Second Round in Columbus, Ohio, with WVU winning, 69-59, marking the third win in a row in the series. 

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