Two days of tense waiting are over for Maryland, as a replacement for Loyola (Md.) was found in Lehigh for a Tuesday night game in College Park, Md.
The Terps (6-4) haven’t played a game at Xfinity Center since Dec. 5 and a game overall since Dec. 12, a 70-68 upset of then-No. 20 Florida at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
COVID-related issues within the Greyhounds’ program nearly made that wait even longer as news broke on Christmas Eve that the Maryland-Loyola game was canceled.
Sunday night, it was announced that Maryland instead would face the Mountain Hawks with increased safety restrictions within Xfinity Center, including the suspension of concessions, increased mask-wearing enforcement, and flexible seat relocation to less-populated sections.
Maryland’s two-week break came after a season-defining win against the Gators, the first win in the Danny Manning era after longtime head coach Mark Turgeon departed the program in early December.
“We haven’t played the way that we’re capable of playing. I think you have to give credit to the team that we played,” Manning said in his postgame press conference on Dec. 12. “But also, we know we can do better. Today it was definitely a step in that direction.”
Lehigh (1-9) enters Tuesday’s game on a five-game losing streak, having most recently lost to Albany 68-52 on Dec. 21.
The Mountain Hawks are 0-2 against Power Five opponents this season, coming close to beating Rutgers in its season opener, but losing 73-70 in overtime.
“I think we’re learning and we’re growing as we go through these experiences,” Lehigh coach Brett Reed said postgame on Dec. 21. “Obviously, I think we need to do a better job and make sure that we can recover a little bit more quickly, or at least not do the things that lead us to have a deficit like we had tonight.”
The Terrapins are 2-0 in the all-time series. In their most recent meeting, in 2007, Maryland won 72-51. Tuesday’s game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network at 8:30 p.m. EST.
–Field Level Media
