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New Hampshire-Maryland Preview

Nov 19, 2009 - 8:45 PM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

New Hampshire (1-0) at Maryland (2-0), 8:00 p.m. EDT

Maryland didn't experience too many problems in its first two games of the season, although star guard Greivis Vasquez's slow start is a slight concern.

Vazquez tried again to find his scoring touch when the 25th-ranked Terrapins host New Hampshire on Friday night.

Maryland (2-0) cracked the Top 25 for the first time in three seasons after an 89-51 rout of Charleston Southern on Nov. 13. The Terps followed it with a 71-42 win over Fairfield on Tuesday night.

Vasquez, who averaged a team-best 17.5 points last season while leading Maryland back to the NCAA tournament, made six of his 25 shots in the victories.

"He's a marked man, there's no doubt about it. He's got to handle that," coach Gary Williams said. "I'd rather him miss now than miss later."

A streaky shooter, Vasquez has experienced similar ups and downs before and is maintaining a calm and confident approach.

"(My shot) will come. I can't force anything," he said. "I'm happy when we win. It's not about me."

While Vasquez has started slowly, the Terps have continued to roll thanks to steady contributions from other starters.

Sean Mosley leads the team with 14.0 points per game on 68.8 percent shooting, while Landon Milbourne has shot 60.0 percent while averaging 13.0 points. Eric Hayes is scoring 12.0 points per game and made five of his 10 attempts from 3-point range.

Maryland has also limited opponents to 46.5 points and 29.1 percent shooting per game. The Terps have forced 47 turnovers.

New Hampshire (1-0) is coming off its best finish in 14 years, just missing its first winning season since 1994-95 at 14-16.

The Wildcats took their first step toward improving upon that record with a 91-45 victory over visiting Division III Suffolk University on Saturday night.

Junior center Dane DiLiegro led the way with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Guard Chandler Rhoads also scored 14 in his college debut and was one of five Wildcats in double figures.

New Hampshire will play a ranked team for the first time since falling 86-47 to then-No. 15 Boston College on Nov. 10, 2006. The Wildcats are 0-8 all-time against ACC opponents.

This will be the first meeting between Maryland and New Hampshire.