After sitting out the first six games of the season, veteran point guard and preseason all-american Marcus Paige will make his return for the top-ten North Carolina Tar Heels on Tuesday night against No. 2 Maryland.
Paige injured his non-shooting hand in early November, after going through the majority of preseason practices with the team.
In his absence, UNC went 5-1 with their lone loss coming on a trip to Northern Iowa, a game that was scheduled for Paige, by Roy Williams, to be a homecoming of sorts. While shorthanded, the Tar Heels also failed to look like the national title contender that many had pegged them to be in the preseason. Joel Berry II appeared most suited to run the point and take over prime playmaking duties, with Nate Britt seeming to fit off the ball and provide auxiliary shooting from the out side.
Now that Paige is back, though, many are expecting that to change. But it will have to be quickly.
As the Big 10/ACC Challenge kicks off, many people’s two title favorites collide in the Dean Center, pitting Paige against the Terrapins’ Melo Trimble, another contender for the Naismith Player of the Year Award. The matchup will go a long way in deciding who comes out on top, with Trimble’s offensive physicality presenting a possible issue for the newly returned Paige.
While a loss to the Terps wouldn’t derail UNC’s season, or dampen the excitement of having Paige back in the lineup, it would be a missed opportunity in their quest for a No. 1 seed come Selection Sunday.
