Maryland and Georgetown agree to extend their men’s basketball series

The two teams first met in 1911 and played each other at least once almost every season from 1935 to 1980. The only interruptions were during World War II and again in the late 1970s. After that, they stopped playing each other regularly – initially due to a feud between longtime coaches John Thompson and Lefty Driesell – and have only met sporadically in recent decades.

The last game was in November 2016, when the Terrapins won by one point with Melo Trimble scoring the game’s highest 22 points. Kevin Huerter sealed the victory with a block in the final seconds.

Maryland leads the overall standings 38-27. The teams split their two meetings in the NCAA Tournament, with the Hoyas winning in 1980 and the Terrapins in 2001.

One of the most memorable games between the two teams was in 1993. Maryland’s Duane Simpkins scored a decisive goal in overtime to secure an 84-83 upset victory against then-No. 15 Georgetown.

Maryland coach Kevin Willard and Georgetown coach Ed Cooley are longtime friends. They previously coached against each other in the Big East, when Willard was at Seton Hall and Cooley was at Providence, and in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, when Willard was at Iona and Cooley was at Fairfield.

“I think it would be good for the district,” Cooley told CBS’ Jon Rothstein last year when asked about the possibility of reviving the rivalry. “…I think for our region, for our people, if there can be a Georgetown-Maryland series, that’s two guaranteed sold-out games every year.”

Both programs are coming off disappointing seasons. Maryland went 16-17 and 7-13 in the Big Ten in Willard’s second season in College Park after reaching the NCAA Tournament in his first season. The Hoyas went 9-23 and 2-18 in the Big East in Cooley’s first season.

The offseason brought improvements for both teams. Georgetown landed the 20th-best recruiting and transfer class in the country, according to 247Sports, and Maryland secured five-star center Derik Queen, 247Sports’ No. 12 recruit in the class of 2024.