UMBC @ Maryland preview

MD Baltimore County at Maryland

Maryland hosts Maryland-Baltimore County in a rare meeting of in-state foes on Friday. The Terrapins have won all 13 of the previous matchups, but the teams have not squared off since 2002.

The Terps might have a slightly different look for the rest of the season after learning forward Justin Jackson will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum. “It is tough because we set up a lot of our offense for Justin. A lot of things were playing through him,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon told reporters. “It kind of limits us a little bit. … It changes our dynamics, it changes a little bit how we’re going to play.” The Terps have won their last three games easily despite playing without Jackson and have captured five in a row overall. The Retrievers have won two straight and four of their last five during a successful non-conference slate, but they haven’t faced many teams of Maryland’s caliber.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS1

ABOUT UMBC (8-5): The Retrievers are the nation’s most prolific 3-point shooting team, making 12.4 shots from beyond the arc per game. All of their top four scorers shoot better than 44 percent from 3-point range, and none of them are afraid to let it fly. Guard Jairus Lyles (21.8 points) is the America East Conference’s leading scorer, while versatile swingman Arkel Lamar (14.3, 7.2 rebounds) is the team’s No. 2 scorer and top rebounder.

ABOUT MARYLAND (11-3): Jackson had struggled at the offensive end, apparently because of the shoulder injury, but still was averaging 9.8 points and a team-best 8.1 rebounds. Without him, the Terps will lean more on guards Anthony Cowan (15.6 points) and Kevin Huerter (13.7, 5.1 rebounds) for scoring, and they’ll need Huerter and bruising freshman forward Bruno Fernando (10.3 points, 5.8 rebounds) to hit the glass. Huerter fell two assists shy of a triple-double in a 75-50 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 21, finishing with 12 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists.

TIP-INS

1. Turgeon is one win away from 400 for his career and 150 with the Terrapins.

2. The Terps have outrebounded 13 of their 14 opponents and rank fifth in the nation in rebounding margin (plus-10.6).

3. UMBC has made at least 10 3-pointers in 14 straight games since hitting only eight in a season-opening loss to SMU.

PREDICTION: Maryland 87, UMBC 65