The post-Garyland era in College Park will begin Nov. 13.
Maryland will open new coach Mark Turgeon’s tenure with a Sunday night date against UNC Wilmington at Comcast Center.
The Terrapins’ opener — as well as the full schedules for all 12 ACC schools — was announced by the conference Wednesday. The Nov. 13 game was previously announced by UNC Wilmington, though it was not entirely certain if it would be Turgeon’s first game.
Turgeon was hired from Texas A&M in May to replace Gary Williams, who retired after 22 seasons.
Turgeon’s first conference game is Jan. 8 at N.C. State. The Wolfpack also has a first-year coach in Mark Gottfried. Maryland’s first ACC home game is Jan. 11 against Wake Forest.
The nonconference portion of the schedule could be tricky for an inexperienced Maryland team with only eight scholarship players coming back from a 19-14 season. Maryland did not participate in a postseason tournament for the first time since 1993.
The Terrapins will participate in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off — including an opening game against Alabama — and play previously revealed games against Illinois (Nov. 29 at Comcast Center in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge) and Notre Dame (Dec. 4 in the BB&T Classic at Verizon Center).
Maryland also will face Temple at the Palestra in Philadelphia on Jan. 21. The game, announced by Temple when it unveiled its nonconference schedule earlier this year, is a return game from last year’s BB&T Classic.
Of Maryland’s nine home nonconference opponents, only Illinois finished last season with a top-200 RPI.
Meanwhile, Virginia Tech opens Nov. 12 at home against East Tennessee and will face a schedule that could include two games at Madison Square Garden in the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Hokies’ inclusion in that event — and the possibility of a meeting with George Mason on Nov. 15 - was unveiled earlier in the summer.
Seth Greenberg’s team also plays Kansas State (Dec. 4) and Brigham Young (Jan. 25) at home and Oklahoma State (Dec. 31) on the road in nonconference play. The Hokies open conference play Jan. 7 against Wake Forest.
Virginia’s season opener is Nov. 13 against South Carolina State. One of the Cavaliers’ notable nonconference games is a Dec. 6 date at John Paul Jones Arena against George Mason.
Other significant nonconference games for Virginia include Michigan at home (Nov. 29) and Oregon (Dec. 18) and Louisiana State (Jan. 2) on the road. The latter two are the back end of home-and-homes started last year.
Virginia’s Jan. 7 conference opener — at home against Miami — also doubles as former George Mason coach Jim Larranaga’s first ACC game. Larranaga, a former Virginia assistant, left Fairfax for Miami in April. The Hurricanes also visit Maryland on Feb. 21.
In meetings among those three schools, Virginia Tech visits Maryland on Jan. 28. The Terps play at Virginia on Feb. 18, with the Cavaliers’ return trip coming March 4. Virginia Tech travels to Virginia on Jan. 22, with the Cavaliers heading to Blacksburg on Feb. 21.
• Patrick Stevens can be reached at pstevens@washingtontimes.com.
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