The first third of the college basketball season offers teams a chance to work out the kinks and ease into their conference schedule. Boston College and Maryland have each had a chance to do just that, and they will meet at the Comcast Center on Sunday at 4 p.m. EST in the first ACC game of the year for both teams.
The two schools have met 12 times and the all-time series is tied 6-6. The first meeting between the two schools came on March 11, 1958 when the Terrapins defeated the Eagles 86-63 at Madison Square Garden.
Recent history is on Maryland's side, as the Terrapins have won five of the last seven meetings. On Jan. 16, 2010, Maryland defeated Boston College 73-57 at Conte Forum behind a 17-point performance from then-senior Greivis Vasquez, who was celebrating his 23rd birthday.
Corey Raji led Boston College with 14 points. Reggie Jackson scored 11 points and Joe Trapani added nine points and nine rebounds for the Eagles.
Trapani has 999 career points entering Sunday's game and will become the 38th player in school history to reach 1,000 points when he reaches the milestone. Trapani had 14 points in the Eagles' 88-86 win over Providence on Wednesday night at Conte Forum, leaving him one point shy of 1,000 points.
With the win, Boston College improved to 7-2. It's the fifth time in the last six seasons that the Eagles have started the season with that record. The only time in the past six years that Boston College failed to start 7-2 was last season, when it opened the year with a 6-3 record.
Jackson has been the Eagles' offensive catalyst, averaging 19.6 points, 4.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds in nine games. Trapani has also been a force on the court, averaging 13.1 points and 6.1 rebounds.
Corey Raji, who has missed the Eagles' last two games with a concussion, is third on the team in scoring with 11.1 points and leads the team in rebounding with 6.3 boards per game. As of Friday, Raji's status was not yet known for Sunday's game, although Boston College head coach Steve Donahue indicated that he will practice and be evaluated further.
The Eagles will also be without forward Cortney Dunn, who was suspended three games by Donahue prior to the Eagles' game against Providence as a result of violating team policy. Senior center Josh Southern started in his place for the first time in 2010 and finished with a career-high 16 points and seven rebounds in the Eagles' win.
Southern is averaging 7.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and two assists in eight games. He missed Boston College's season-opener against St. Francis (NY) while recuperating from minor intestinal surgery in the offseason.
Biko Paris, who swapped positions with Jackson at the start of the season, has been performing well as a shooting guard in 2010, averaging 9.6 points on 42.5% shooting and is shooting 33.3% from beyond the arc.
Danny Rubin, a true freshman walk-on, has been a pleasant surprise for the Eagles. He is averaging 7.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in eight games, seven of which he has started.
Maryland enters Sunday's game at 7-3 and has won four of its last five games. The Terrapins won their first three games against Seattle (105-76), Charleston (75-74) and Maine (89-59) before losing two straight game against No. 5 Pittsburgh (79-70) and No. 13 Illinois (80-76).
A 72-54 win over Delaware State on November 26th ended the brief two-game skid, and the Terrapins rattled off two straight wins against Elon (76-57) and Penn State (62-39) before losing to Temple 64-61 on Sunday, Dec. 5.
Maryland toppled winless N.C. Greensboro 99-56 on Wednesday to get back on track. Jordan Williams scored a game-high 23 points and had 13 rebounds to lead the Terrapins. Terrell Stoglin added 18 points and Adrian Bowie finished with 16 points.
The win was Maryland's 15th in a row at home. During the streak, the Terrapins are 8-0 against ACC opponents.
Williams leads the Terrapins in scoring, averaging 17.7 points per contest. He is shooting 56.7% from the field this season and leads the team in rebounding with 11.8 boards per game.
Cliff Tucker is second in scoring, averaging 11.2 points and 2.8 assists in 10 games. Stoglin is third in scoring, averaging 10.7 points. Bowie is averaging 8.7 points and Sean Mosley is averaging 8.1 points for the Terrapins.
Following Sunday's game, Boston College returns home to Conte Forum for a Sunday afternoon matchup against Bryant (Sunday, Dec. 19, 3 p.m. EST).