Maryland, Georgetown renew basketball rivalry

• Myron Medcalf, ESPN Staff WriterJun 25, 2024, 11:34 AM ET

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  • Signed up with ESPN.com in 2011
  • Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato

For the first time in almost a decade, Maryland and Georgetown will resume their competition with a four-game series in men’s basketball that will begin in 2025, the schools announced Tuesday.In their last matchup, a 75-71 win for Maryland in the 2016-17 season, the Terps and Hoyas were tied in the last minutes until previous Maryland standout Rasheed Sulaimon struck a late 3-pointer to seal the win. In between 1935 and 1980, the 2 teams played every year with the exception of a three-year hiatus since of The second world war. They have not played frequently in more than 30 years.The competing schools sit just 23 miles apart between College Park, Maryland, and the Georgetown school in Washington, D.C.Their restored rivalry will start with a matchup in Maryland at the Xfinity Center during the 2025-26 season before Georgetown hosts the following year. Maryland will host in 2027 and the game will be dipped into Georgetown in 2028. Two of the legends who fueled the competition had actually been lukewarm about its renewal.The competition between Maryland coach Lefty Driesell and previous Georgetown coach John Thompson Jr. stalled any talks

of routine series in between the two schools. The 2 coaches invested years blaming one another for the state of the rivalry, as they both competed for nationwide titles in the 1980s. While their respect for one another became more obvious later in their lives, a hint of bitterness always remained.Driesell, then the head coach at Georgia State in 1998, wore French cuff links and a tailored fit in a game at Georgetown that would have been his 700th career triumph.

His group lost and Driesell, who passed away in February, swore he wasn’t making a fashion statement at the cost of his perennial rival.When former Georgetown head coach John Thompson III decided to play Maryland almost a decade back, his daddy, who passed away in 2020, wasn’t exactly excited about the game.

“I’m not reviewing there to play no Maryland at Maryland,” Thompson said in 2015, according to the Washington Post. “John’s mother must have been advising him. I know it damn sure wasn’t me

, to state he’s gon na discuss there and play Maryland at Maryland.”Getting in next season, Ed Cooley’s Georgetown team will be led by returning vet Jayden Epps and a fleet of transfers, consisting of previous TCU standout Micah Peavy. Kevin

Willard will lead a Maryland squad in 2024-25 that will rely on Julian Reese, the brother of WNBA star Angel Reese.