It's not the biggest or best matchup in this year's ACC-Big Ten Challenge, that's for sure. But Tuesday night's game between Maryland and Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center is still worth monitoring, in part because it features two coaches in their first years at new jobs — one of whom is off to a terrific start, the other not so much.
"For these kids, they need to see success in order to keep it going, in order to feel good about the work that they're doing," said first-year Louisville coach Kenny Payne, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. "We work hard every day. They would probably say we work too hard. But it has to translate into a win at some point."
At some point it will.
(I think.)
But the fact that Payne's head-coaching career at his alma mater is off to a 0-6 start has turned into one of the bigger storylines in college basketball. Unless his Cardinals win Tuesday (as 13-point underdogs), they'll become just the second major-conference team in 40 years to start 0-7, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Louisville has already dropped 80 spots since the beginning of the season at KenPom.com — from 91st to 171st — after going 0-3 in last week's Maui Jim Maui Invitational. The Cardinals lost those three games by an average of 25.7 points.
"It's hard because everybody, the whole world, is paying attention," said Louisville forward JJ Traynor. "There's a lot of outside sources, a lot of negativity out there."
Meantime, on the other end of the spectrum, things are going quite well for Kevin Willard in Year 1 at Maryland. His Terrapins are 6-0 with wins over Saint Louis and Miami — and slotted 24th in Tuesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
Worth noting: Willard is a former six-year Louisville assistant who was initially considered a candidate to get the job Payne now holds. So that's another dynamic that makes Tuesday's matchup interesting.
Maryland-Louisville is scheduled to tip at 7 p.m. ET.
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Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Sir'Jabari Rice finished with 19 points and five assists in Saturday's 91-54 win over UT Rio Grande Valley. The Longhorns' next game is Thursday against Creighton. | -- | 21-13 |
| 2 |  | Marcus Sasser finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 49-44 win over Kent State. The Cougars' next game is Tuesday against Norfolk State. | -- | 32-5 |
| 3 |  | Zach Edey finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds in Sunday's 75-56 win over Duke. The Boilermakers' next game is Wednesday at Florida State. | -- | 34-5 |
| 4 |  | Oumar Ballo finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 81-79 win over Creighton. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday against Utah. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Jayden Gardner finished with 26 points and three rebounds in Friday's 72-45 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Cavaliers' next game is Tuesday at Michigan. | -- | 23-11 |
| 6 |  | Tristen Newton finished with 13 points and four rebounds in Sunday's 71-53 win over Iowa State. The Huskies' next game is Thursday against Oklahoma State. | -- | 37-3 |
| 7 |  | Creighton allowed Arizona to shoot 52.9% from the field in Wednesday's 81-79 loss to the Wildcats. The Bluejays' next game is Thursday at Texas. | -- | 25-10 |
| 8 |  | Ricky Council finished with 27 points and three rebounds in Monday's 74-61 win over Troy. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday against San Jose State. | -- | 16-17 |
| 9 |  | Julian Strawther finished with 23 points and nine rebounds in Sunday's 88-84 win over Xavier. The Zags' next game is Friday against Baylor. | -- | 27-8 |
| 10 |  | Mark Sears finished with 24 points and five assists in Sunday's 103-101 4OT win over North Carolina. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against South Dakota State. | -- | 25-12 |
| 11 |  | Tyson Walker finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Sunday's 78-77 win over Portland. The Spartans' next game is Wednesday at Notre Dame. | -- | 20-15 |
| 12 |  | Jacob Toppin finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 96-56 win over North Florida. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Bellarmine. | -- | 23-10 |
| 13 |  | Skyy Clark finished with 19 points and four assists in Friday's 92-59 win over Lindenwood. The Illini's next game is Tuesday against Syracuse. | -- | 29-9 |
| 14 |  | Santiago Vescovi finished with 20 points and six rebounds in Friday's 64-50 win over Kansas. The Vols' next game is Wednesday against McNeese State. | -- | 27-9 |
| 15 |  | Jalen Wilson finished with 22 points and six assists in Monday's 87-55 win over Texas Southern. The Jayhawks' next game is Thursday against Seton Hall. | -- | 23-11 |
| 16 |  | Tamar Bates finished with 22 points and four assists in Friday's 90-51 win over Jackson State. The Hoosiers' next game is Wednesday against North Carolina. | -- | 19-14 |
| 17 |  | Keyonte George finished with 17 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 89-60 win over McNeese. The Bears' next game is Tuesday at Marquette. | -- | 24-11 |
| 18 |  | Duke missed 17 of the 19 3-pointers it attempted in Sunday's 75-56 loss to Purdue. The Blue Devils' next game is Wednesday against Ohio State. | -- | 27-9 |
| 19 |  | Caleb Grill missed all five shots he attempted in Sunday's 71-53 loss to UConn. The Cyclones' next game is Wednesday against North Dakota. | -- | 29-8 |
| 20 |  | North Carolina missed 16 of the 23 3-pointers it attempted in Sunday's 103-101 4OT loss to Alabama. The Tar Heels' next game is Wednesday at Indiana. | -- | 29-8 |
| 21 |  | Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 27 points and seven rebounds in Sunday's 81-60 win over Bellarmine. The Bruins' next game is Thursday at Stanford. | -- | 16-17 |
| 22 |  | Wendell Green Jr. finished with 22 points and four rebounds in Sunday's 65-60 win over Saint Louis. The Tigers' next game is Friday against Colgate. | -- | 27-8 |
| 23 |  | San Diego State squandered a 13-point lead in Wednesday's 78-74 overtime loss to Arkansas. The Aztecs' next game is Tuesday against UC Irvine. | -- | 26-11 |
| 24 |  | Julian Reese finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 95-79 win over Coppin State. The Terrapins' next game is Tuesday at Louisville. | -- | 16-17 |
| 25 |  | Justice Sueing finished with 33 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's 80-73 win over Texas Tech. The Buckeyes' next game is Wednesday at Duke. | -- | 22-14 |
| 26 |  | Texas Tech missed 13 of the 18 3-pointers it attempted in Wednesday's 80-73 loss to Ohio State. The Red Raiders' next game is Wednesday against Georgetown. | -- | 23-11 |
