No. 6 Maryland looks to continue roll vs. Fairfield

Sixth-ranked Maryland hosts Fairfield on Tuesday night in College Park in a meeting of teams traveling in different stratospheres.

The undefeated Terrapins (3-0) are jockeying for position near the top of the college basketball world. The Stags, picked last in the 11-team Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference preseason poll and under first-year coach Jay Young, are feeling their way so far in a 1-3 start, including an 84-75 overtime loss at Loyola (Md.) Sunday night.

"Anytime you make a coaching change, you have a learning curve and that's what we have now," said Young, whose team will be playing its fifth consecutive game away from home.

Mark Turgeon's Maryland squad will be playing its fourth straight home game Tuesday at Xfinity Center. The Terrapins are coming of an 80-50 win over Oakland on Saturday and have won their first three games by an average of 24.0 points.

But slow starts have been a consistent theme for the talented Terrapins and shooting 26.4 percent behind the 3-point arc remains a concern.

"Another slow start for us," Turgeon said after the Terrapins and Golden Grizzlies exchanged the lead six times in the first half.

"Am I concerned? Yes and no. Sometimes when you get the No. 7 (ranking) in front of your name and you really haven't quite earned it, you think you're supposed to beat everybody by 25 in each half, and that's not the case in college basketball."

Maryland will rightly be heavily favored over the Stags. Against a common opponent, Holy Cross, the Terrapins cruised to a 95-71 season-opening victory. Fairfield gave Young his first Division I head-coaching win with a 68-63 overtime win on the Crusaders' home floor.

Fairfield is averaging just 66.8 points per game, and that's not likely enough to keep pace with the Terrapins, who are bigger and deeper than last year's team that made the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

"We're going to have to rely on a lot of defense and a lot of rebounding," Young said.

Offensively, the Stags count on 6-foot-5 junior guard Jesus Cruz, who is averaging 19.5 points per game, followed by 3-point ace Landon Taliaferro (14.3 points) and 6-4 guard Taj Benning (11.5 points, 6.8 rebounds).

Maryland's Darryl Morsell, the team's best lockdown defender, will likely draw Cruz. Morsell was an unlikely offensive hero Saturday, leading the way with 14 points, including 12 in the second half as the Terrapins took control. Along with senior guard Anthony Cowan and sophomore forward Jalen Smith, Morsell is a team leader relishing the Terrapins' success and accolades so far.

"We love the pressure of being the No. 7 team in the country," Morsell said before the Terrapins moved up a spot in Monday's new AP poll. "We just embrace it. We know we're talented. But it's just about execution and just coming ready to play every single day."

Maryland's season-opening homestand wraps up Friday night with George Mason.

--Field Level Media