COLLEGE PARK, Md. — No. 6 Maryland (4-0) and George Mason (5-0) are set to meet in College Park for a battle of unbeaten DMV teams Nov. 22. It will mark the ninth meeting all-time between the Terps and Patriots, with Maryland winning all eight previous contests.

But this year’s George Mason team is off to the best start in program history, and Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon knows his squad is in for a battle that should yield perhaps the most entertaining matchup at Xfinity Center so far this season.

“This will be the best defensive team we’ve played against,” Turgeon said Thursday. “This is what everybody’s been waiting for. So hopefully our fans are excited for this game. It’s 5-0 (George Mason), we’re 4-0. It’s a Friday night. I know it’s hard to get here at 7 [p.m.], but leave work a little early. We are ranked in the top 10. This should be a game that our fan base is excited about. It’s a Friday night for the students. We need them. We want them here. Everybody should be excited. I know we’ll be excited for [Friday] night’s game because they are 5-0 and we respect their program.”

Terps’ senior point guard Anthony Cowan Jr., who recently cracked the top 20 for Maryland’s all-time scoring and is hitting his stride as a distributor this year with five assists or more in each of the Terps’ first four games, is feeling the excitement his coach alluded to.

“The first thing you look at is that they’re local, so you know every local team is going to try to give you their best shot,” Cowan said, “A lot of good guard play, very well-coached. They’re aggressive, so I think it will be a really good game. It’s always fun. They always want to try to give you their best shot because it’s Maryland at the end of the day. We’re always excited to be able to play a local team, so it should be a great game.”

George Mason’s early success this season has been the result of slow, deliberate offense matched with solid defense.

The Patriots are led by strong guard play from junior Javon Greene (13.0 ppg) as well as sophomores Jordan Miller (15.4 ppg) and Jamal Hartwell (13.2 ppg). The Northern Virginia school from the Atlantic 10 also receives heavy contributions and gets a lot of its energy from its highly athletic junior forward AJ Wilson.

Wilson is a Laurel, Maryland, native and former Terps recruiting target. He is in the midst of a breakout season for the Patriots, averaging 11.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks per game.

“I think the biggest thing with [Wilson] is his motor,” Turgeon said. “Are we going to match his motor? If we don’t, we’ll be in foul trouble and he’ll have a great game. If our four men decide to match his motor, then we’ll be OK because we’re pretty athletic and we’re pretty strong, too. And he’s having a terrific year for them...I’ve been really impressed with their team just watching them on film, but he’s particularly having a good year. We have to match his motor [Friday].”

While the Terps will have to rev up their motor to match the energy of Wilson, Turgeon’s team will also likely have to adapt to the idled pace the Patriots prefer to play at.

KenPom ranks George Mason 314th out of 353 teams in adjusted tempo. Dave Paulsen’s team is careful with the ball, ranking 61st in offensive turnover percentage and the Patriots also beat opponents by not allowing many second chances thanks to the 25th-best offensive rebound percentage in the country.

With a deep and versatile roster, Maryland has shown the ability to adapt on offense and defense so far this season, giving Turgeon confidence that the Terps will be ready for anything the Patriots throw at them on Friday night.

“We’ll play any way anybody wants to play,” Turgeon said. “If we have to win 52-50, we’re going to figure out how to win 52-50. If it’s 90-80, we’ll figure that out. We’re getting more equipped for that. Transition is a key for us [Friday] night. That doesn’t mean they’re going to shoot quick, but they’re going to run. Dave (Paulsen) does a great job of coaching them. They’re going to be deliberate, but they have to get some shots on the break, especially with their point guard. He’s a terrific player in transition, so we’re going to have to be aware of him in transition.”

Maryland’s points of emphasis in practice since last playing Tuesday night have been geared toward helping them stave off a hungry, local mid-major in its next outing.

While getting out in transition and running has been the formula for much of Maryland’s success so far this season, the Terps know they have to be able to play in the halfcourt against teams like George Mason.

“That’s one thing Turgeon has emphasized, just making sure we’re better in the halfcourt sets,” Terps’ sophomore wing Aaron Wiggins said. “We’ve continued to work on that in practice, but with our ability, our length, and our skill defensively and our just natural feel for the game, I’m sure we’ll be able to get a couple of turnovers off of them. But even still, we have to be better in our halfcourt set, so that’s something that we’ve worked on. “

Maryland’s one negative takeaway from its 19-point win over Fairfield was its poor free-throw shooting. The Terps shot just 14-for-25 from the line on Tuesday night and are shooting just 65.6 percent overall as a team so far this season.

“There’s nothing that you can really work on, at the end of the day, you just have to man up and make them,” Cowan said. “That’s the best way to approach it, myself included. I’ve been missing way too many free throws. It’s something that we need if we want to be playing in these big-time games. So it’s just something we need to correct early.”

Excitement seems to be the common theme for Friday night’s matchup between undefeated local teams. And while the Terps are thrilled to be 4-0, they’re not complacent. As is their shooting from the free-throw line, this highly ranked Maryland team is still a work in progress.

“We’re not looking at it as we’re 4-0,” Turgeon said. “We’re looking at where we are and how much better we have to get...We’re getting there. We’re getting better every day.”

Tipoff in College Park between Maryland and George Mason is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on the Maryland Sports Radio Network and televised on the Big Ten Network.