PRESS RELEASE
COLLEGE PARK, MD (Oct. 18, 2021) – The Maryland men’s basketball has checked in at No. 21 in the Associated Press (AP) Top-25 Preseason Poll, receiving 294 votes. It marks the fifth time in the past seven years Maryland has been ranked in the AP poll.
Fellow Big Ten programs joining the Terrapins in the poll include No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Purdue, No. 11 Illinois and No. 17 Ohio State. Other opponents on the Terrapins’ schedule receiving votes are Michigan State, Indiana, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Richmond, Louisville and Mississippi State.
This is the 22nd time in program history Maryland has earned a preseason ranking in the AP poll. It is also Maryland’s 412th appearance overall, which ranks 14th all-time nationally.
The Terrapins are led by senior All-Big Ten guard Eric Ayala, who led the team in scoring last season with 15.1 points/g. He is joined by fellow returning starters Donta Scott (11.0 pts/g) and Hakim Hart (7.1 pts/g).
Head coach Mark Turgeon also added a number of talented transfers, including Georgetown forward Qudus Wahab who was ranked the third overall transfer in this year’s portal by CBSSports.com. Wahab was joined by former All-A10 point guard Fatts Russell (Rhode Island), former C-USA All-Defensive Team member Xavier Green (Old Dominion), Ian Martinez (Utah) and Pavlo Dziuba (Arizona State).
The Terrapins open the season Nov. 9 when they host Quinnipiac at 7:00 pm.
