Notre Dame @ Maryland preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 15, 2014 ) Notre Dame 66, Maryland 74

Fourth-ranked Maryland is riding high after putting together a strong performance to wrap up the Orlando Invitational, and the Terrapins look to avoid a letdown when they host Notre Dame in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday night. Maryland held the nation’s leading scorer Markus Howard to six points Sunday in a decisive 84-63 triumph over Marquette in the championship game to win its eighth straight to open the season.

“Our number one thing is to be selfless. And you can talk about it, but you’ve got to live it,” Terrapins coach Mark Turgeon told reporters after the final in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. “I thought the last 65 minutes down here, we lived it. We’re getting close to being the team I thought we would be. Sometimes it takes a tournament like that to get us there.” Maryland’s senior guard Anthony Cowan Jr. was named tournament MVP and Big Ten co-player of the week after registering 72 points along with 13 assists over three games near Disney World. Notre Dame comes to College Park, Md. with a six-game winning streak - all against mid-majors - after opening the season with a loss at North Carolina, and the Fighting Irish lean heavily on senior forward John Mooney (14.3 points, 13 rebounds per game). Notre Dame led the nation in assist-turnover ratio (1.82) entering Tuesday and drained 12-of-25 shots from 3-point range in its latest win - a 91-66 rout of Fairleigh Dickinson on Nov. 26.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (6-1): Mooney boasts four double-doubles in the six games in which he has played and 6-10 sophomore Nate Laszewski has emerged with three straight double-figure scoring efforts to support him inside. Senior guard T.J. Gibbs is second on the team in scoring (12.0) and sophomore backcourt mate Dane Goodwin is the third player averaging in double figures (10.9) while draining 10-of-21 from 3-point range. Sophomore guard Prentiss Hubb scored 22 in the opener against North Carolina and has cooled off since, but still averages 9.9 points and a team-best 4.4 assists.

ABOUT MARYLAND (8-0): Cowan tops the team in scoring (17.1), assists (4.5) and has knocked down 16-of-38 from 3-point range, but the Terrapins are a balanced group with five players averaging at least nine points. Sophomore Jalen Smith adds 13.4 points per game and the 6-10 forward leads the team in rebounds (9.0) while sophomore guards Eric Ayala (10.9 points) and Aaron Wiggins (10.8) also contribute on the offensive end. Junior guard Darryl Morsell (9.0 points, 6.1 rebounds) was the key defender against Howard in the championship game and averaged 15 points the last two games.

TIP-INS

1. Notre Dame senior F Juwan Durham has 11 of his team-high 17 blocks in the last three contests.

2. Cowan boasts 473 career assists, 10 behind Duane Simpkins for seventh on the team’s all-time list.

3. The Irish have won the last four meetings in which the Terrapins have been ranked in the top 10.

PREDICTION: Maryland 74, Notre Dame 72