North Carolina point guard Marcus Paige will play against Maryland on Tuesday in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, Tar Heels coach Roy Williams told the ESPNU College Basketball podcast Monday morning.
Paige has missed the first six games of the season with a broken right hand, including the Tar Heels' only loss at Northern Iowa.
"He'll play,'' Williams said. "Unless something weird happens today in practice. He practiced Friday and Saturday.''
Paige was a preseason All-American and was picked as a co-preseason ACC Player of the Year with Virginia's Malcolm Brogdon. The Tar Heels were the preseason No. 1 team before losing at Northern Iowa, a game set up as a homecoming for Paige, who is from Iowa.
Williams said he's not sure how effective Paige will be since he has been out "three weeks and three days. ... Everyone reacts differently when they come back. He's been doing a lot of shooting.''
Williams called Paige the team's "best scorer, best defensive player.''
Paige will likely be matched up with Maryland's top playmaker, Melo Trimble, in a game pitting the two former ACC rivals against each other.