Buzz Williams’ first season as coach at Maryland was spoiled by a December injury to his top player, Pharrel Payne.
After a disastrous 12-21 season in which the Terrapins finished next to last in the Big Ten, Payne is back and joins an upgraded cast of transfers and incoming freshmen.
Maryland opens with much optimism on Nov. 2 when it plays host to Bucknell of the Patriot League in College Park, Md.
Payne averaged 17.5 points and 7.2 rebounds in 10 games last season. He has been an inspirational force, according to Williams, to go along with his physical presence at 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds.
“When you have someone of that talent who returns and you have 11 new players, that model, that example, creates some maturity without the coaches having to talk about it,” Williams said.
Also back for Maryland is Andre Mills, who emerged as an offensive threat late last year. He averaged 23.0 points in the Terrapins’ last six regular-season games.
The prize of the freshman class is 6-10 Baba Oladotun, who has been projected as an NBA lottery pick.
Rounding out the lineup are transfers DJ Wagner (Arkansas), Bishop Boswell (Tennessee) and Tomislav Buljan (New Mexico), who averaged 13.1 points and a Mountain West-high 10.3 rebounds per game.
While Maryland has been slotted in a media poll to finish 12th in the 18-team Big Ten, Bucknell has been picked to finish sixth in the 10-team Patriot League.
Fourth-year coach John Griffin III guided the Bison to a 10-23 record last season after they finished tied for first in the league in 2024-25.
Last year’s top four scorers have transferred or graduated, leaving Bucknell with a roster full of new players, including transfers Luca Soroa Schaller (Northeastern), Kyle Marshall (Air Force), Luke Soden (Division II Regis) and Rocco Lamuno (D2 Spring Hill).
Griffin found size in 6-11 freshmen Ludvik Bergseng and Danny Kennard and 6-9 freshman Ethan Marten-Coney. The top returnees are Jayden Williams and Aleksander Pachucki.
“From a physicality standpoint, we’re up against a beast,” Griffin said of opening with Maryland.
The teams last met two years ago, with the Terps coming away with a 91-67 victory.