The Maryland men’s basketball team will play Florida at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, during the 2021-22 season as part of the second annual Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational.
The school announced the Dec. 12 game Tuesday, adding a high-profile matchup to its nonconference slate. Ticket information, broadcast details and game times will be announced at a later date.
The Terps are 1-1 all-time against the Gators, last playing them Dec. 10, 2003, a 69-68 Maryland win over top-ranked Florida. Maryland is 2-2 all-time at Barclays Center and most recently defeated Richmond and Kansas State to win the Barclays Center Classic title in 2016.
Florida finished 15-10 this past season, advancing to the Round of 32 in the NCAA tournament. The Gators entered the 2019-20 season ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and went 19-12, tied for fourth in the Southeastern Conference, before the season was shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Terps have had a busy offseason that included the extension of coach Mark Turgeon, the acquisition of three transfers and the hiring of former Wake Forest coach Danny Manning as an assistant. Maryland is searching for another assistant after Bino Ranson departed for a job at DePaul.
The Terps are also waiting for draft decisions from their top two scorers this past season, Eric Ayala and Aaron Wiggins. Both have declared for the NBA draft while retaining their eligibility, keeping open a return to College Park. Turgeon recently said on 105.7 The Fan that Wiggins will likely be invited to the NBA draft combine in Chicago, where he would try to boost his stock into a first-round selection. He also said that Ayala is “realistic about his situation” and “knows the best thing for him is, eventually, probably to come back to Maryland.”
Stadium reported Monday that senior guard Darryl Morsell, who announced he would declare for the draft while also entering the transfer portal, is leaning toward returning to college to use his fifth year of eligibility. According to the report, the former Mount Saint Joseph star has drawn interest from several schools, including Marquette, Providence, Arkansas and Duke.
A source previously confirmed that Maryland will open the season against Quinnipiac on Nov. 9 at Xfinity Center.
