By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
The Maryland Terrapins and the North Carolina Tar Heels were once conference rivals. But on Tuesday night, the two teams played for the first time as non-conference rivals, as the Terrapins moved to the Big Ten Conference.
The 9th ranked Tar Heels won 89-81 over the 2nd ranked Terrapins at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The win tied the ACC-Big Ten Challenge at 4 games each.
The Tar Heels have won nine straight games in this match-up, and it was the Terps first loss on the season, as both teams are both 6-1 on the season. Roy Williams, Tar Heels head coach, has won 29 games over Top 2 opponents, which is the most-ever.
The Tar Heels shot 53% from the field. They also capitalized on the Terps miscues late in the game to seal the win.
Both teams nearly scored 50 points in the second half of the game. The Terrapins had 46, while the home team had 48.
It was the first game back for Marcus Paige, who was the Tar Heels leading performer. Paige, who missed the first six games with as he was recovering from an injury, had 20 points, 2 rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
“I decided to lose myself into the game,” Paige said. “I got the tape where it was comfortable and the rest of was just playing basketball.”
In the battle of the point guards, Melo Trimble led the Terps with 23 points, two rebounds, 12 assists, and two steals. Trimble was responsible for 52 of Maryland’s 81 points.
This could be a match-up of Final Four teams in later in the season when March Madness tips-off.
