Maryland men’s basketball is running out of firsts with head coach Buzz Williams.
The beginning of the Terps’ season has flown by. Now, they approach their first Big Ten game under their new head coach. They hit the road for the second time of the season to face a team undergoing a similar challenge — but having better early-season results — in Iowa.
Maryland’s conference opener is slated to tip off at 4:00 p.m. Dec. 6 in Iowa City, with the game available to watch on Fox Sports One.
Iowa Hawkeyes (7-1, 0-1 Big Ten)
2024 record: 17-16,
7-13 Big Ten
The Hawkeyes decided to make a change after year 15 of the Fran McCaffery era ended, with the team having barely finished above .500 on the season. In came head coach Ben McCollum, who took Drake to the NCAA Tournament second round in 2024-25, his only season with the program.
McCollum brought a record of success to Iowa. Before Drake, he was a powerhouse at Division II Northwest Missouri State, where he won four D-II titles between 2017 and 2022. He also brought a few critical transfers from Drake that helped the Hawkeyes fly through their first seven games undefeated.
Iowa was grounded in its Big Ten opener Tuesday, a 71-52 defeat at Michigan State. That was the second straight game the Hawkeyes scored under 60 points, a surprising turn. Their high-flying offense had averaged 87.5 points per game through their first six contests.
Players to watch
Bennett Stirtz, senior guard, 6-foot-4, No. 14 — Stirtz’s rapid ascent has come right along with McCollum’s. He was already an important player at Missouri Valley State but came into his own at Drake, where he was named player of the year in the Mississippi Valley Conference. He averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game for the Bulldogs while playing all but 20 minutes over the year.
The jump up at Iowa hasn’t fazed the senior, who is quickly asserting himself as one of the premier players in the conference. Stirtz leads the team in points, assists and steals per game.
Alvaro Folgueiras, junior forward, 6-foot-10, No. 7 — Folgueiras was named to the preseason watchlist for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year and the 84th-best collegiate player by On3 before even playing a game of major-conference ball. The Spaniard impressed at Robert Morris, where he was named the Horizon League Player of the Year in March.
One of the rare bigs with the capability to play inside and outside, Folgueiras shoots 44% from beyond the arc. He does the traditional 6-foot-10 things right too, with a team-leading 4.3 rebounds per game.
Tavion Banks, senior guard/forward, 6-foot-7, No. 6 — Banks is another of the Drake-to-Iowa products, originally via Northwest Florida State. He’s started every game for the Hawkeyes this season as a solid 3-spot player. The increased continuity has helped at times, but Banks is a player to target defensively — he has six assists to 15 turnovers on the year.
Strength
Shot creation. The Hawkeyes have directly assisted just under 64% of their made shots on the season, and they rank 39th in Division I in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.65). That team-play aspect could benefit them as Big Ten play progresses.
Weakness
Depth. Stirtz has earned the right to be Iowa’s go-to guy, but he’s also there out of necessity. He has scored 18 points a game for the Hawkeyes — and the team’s second-highest scorer averages just half of that tally.
Three things to know
1. What are the lineups? Williams finally has a fleshed-out bench that he’ll be happy to rely on, but the way Maryland sets its team up will be intriguing. The Terps rolled with three forwards from the jump, but they played most of the game with two forwards and three guards, perhaps due to Solomon Washington’s comparative lack of conditioning. Iowa is a large team, and the added size could work out well.
2. Diggy Coit needs a good outing. Since going 11-for-17 from the floor and 8-for-10 against Mount St. Mary’s, Coit has been struck by the law of averages. Over the last four games, he has made just nine of 26 attempts. He hasn’t made a triple in three games. Maryland needs him to figure out how to get going against bigger opponents for him to justify his minutes in the conference.
3. A break ahead. Following the game against Iowa, the Terps will wait seven days before playing their next game, when they host Michigan Dec. 13. It’ll be their longest streak of the year. Williams will get the chance for some dedicated coaching and teaching, which will benefit the Terps — but a bad response would hang over the Terps for some extra time.
