No. 1 Villanova and No. 2 Maryland haven't faced each other — officially — since 2011. Wildcats coach Jay Wright said in a Big East coaches conference call Thursday that the two teams met in a closed preseason scrimmage in October. Wright and his team knew right away that the Terps would be a force to be reckoned with this season.
“They came in here and it was an unbelievable scrimmage," he said. "Maybe one of the greatest games no one ever saw. As good as they were in that game, we came out of that game saying, ‘Wow, they could win a national championship.’ It would be amazing if we could meet up again.”
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The Maryland team the Wildcats saw before the season was different than the one taking the court now. It was the first time that freshman Diamond Stone and transfers Rasheed Sulaimon and Robert Carter had played together.
“That scrimmage was their first time playing together. Where they are now compared to where they were in that scrimmage is light years," Wright said. "You could tell with all those guys when they got going together, they were going to be great.”
Maryland has won four straight and hosts Wisconsin on Saturday. The Wildcats have also won four in a row, including an 86-59 victory at DePaul on Tuesday, the day after they were named No. 1 in the coaches' poll and The Associated Press poll. Villanova hosts St. John's on Saturday.
Wright said that while the No. 1 ranking adds pressure, it might also be beneficial if his team earns a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats were a No. 1 seed last year, but were upset in the first weekend by N.C. State.
"I’m hoping, if we can stay in this spot, that if we do get (a No. 1 seed), we’ll be prepared for it,” he said.
Wright is hoping that if his team meets Maryland again, there's a national title on the line.
“I would only like to play them again if it was in the national championship (game)," he said. "Other than that, I wouldn’t be interested in seeing them.”