Maryland Prepares for Bucknell Opener Under Pressure
Maryland men’s basketball head coach Buzz Williams enters his second year facing immediate pressure as the Terrapins prepare to open their 2026-27 season on Monday at 7 p.m. against the Bucknell Bison at the Xfinity Center, with the game airing on Big Ten Plus. Following a disastrous campaign that resulted in the program’s worst record since 1941, Williams’ squad features a heavily overhauled roster featuring eleven offseason additions.
The Terps return just four players from last season, anchored by leading scorers Pharrel Payne and Andre Mills. To rebuild the program, the coaching staff brought in the No. 14-ranked recruiting class alongside a seven-man transfer portal group. Maryland won its two open exhibition games against power conference foes, setting the stage for what the program hopes will be its 13th straight season-opening victory.
I spent three years at one university in Boston, and this is my first time being on a new team at college,
Mike McNair Jr. said, describing the transition. So just being with a new group of guys, a blue team, it’s definitely special.
Bucknell Seeks Stability After Roster Turnover
The visiting Bucknell Bison enter the matchup looking to reverse the trajectory of a turbulent 2025-26 season where they finished 10-23 overall and 6-12 in Patriot League play. Head coach John Griffin III, who returned to his alma mater in 2023, faces his own roster reset after losing 73.3% of the team’s offensive production and nine players.
Bucknell countered those departures by adding seven freshmen and four transfers. Among the newcomers is junior guard Rocco Lamuno, a transfer from Spring Hill College who led the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference by averaging 18.5 points per game. Lamuno posted a team-high 16 points and four steals in 28 minutes during Bucknell’s lone exhibition game.
The Bison return junior point guard Jayden Williams, who averaged 7.5 points and four assists per game last season while committing 58 turnovers across 33 starts. Alongside Williams and Lamuno, junior guard Aleksander Pachucki returns after shooting 35.9% from beyond the arc and averaging 5.9 points per game.
Key Roster Questions for the Terrapins
As Maryland steps onto the floor for its home opener, several rotation questions remain open for Williams. Tennessee transfer Bishop Boswell, who played just eight minutes in preseason, is the lone player who didn’t suit up against West Virginia.
Meanwhile, the new pieces continue to integrate into the lineup. Mills and Payne combined for 53 points to spark a comeback from a 19-point halftime deficit in Maryland’s final exhibition game. However, starters DJ Wagner and Tomislav Buljan struggled to find offensive rhythm in the preseason, shooting a combined 2-for-14 from the field with seven total points against West Virginia.
Williams utilized a tighter seven-man rotation during the second half of the team’s final preseason outing, deviating from his typical frequency of substitutions as he searches for effective combinations ahead of the opening tip.
