Maryland is looking to establish itself as a solid top 25 team and is off to a 2-0 start, but the Terrapins have the task of facing a Vermont team that opened the season without its top player, but scored a 15-point road win against Northern Iowa. 

Vermont has ranked in the top 30 in the country in points allowed on a per-possession basis each of the past four seasons. The Catamounts held Northern Iowa to 57 points despite Ryan Davis, who had a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game last season, being ruled out for the game just minutes before tip-off. 

Maryland made just 24.3 percent of its 3-point shots and 67.3 percent of its free throws in wins over George Washington and Quinnipiac to start the season and does not have a single player averaging more than 2.5 assists per game. 

The absence of Davis was due to a non-COVID related illness and he was ruled day-to-day. That’s significant as Davis either will miss this game or will be playing at less than 100 percent after ranking third among all qualifying Division I players last season in points on a per-minute basis. 

Both teams have ranked in the bottom 100 of the more than 350 Division I teams in possessions per game each of the past five seasons, and will play a slow defense-oriented game on Saturday. 

The play: Vermont vs, Maryland total, Under.