Whether they know it or not, admit it or refute it, there is no denying upon further examination that Indiana and Maryland, coaches Mike Davis and Gary Williams, senior guards Tom Coverdale and Steve Blake, are similar.

Yes, these two teams, the two that met on the final day of the season last April, are rolling into their marquee matchup Tuesday night in Indianapolis in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

	Mike Davis isn't afraid to say what his Hoosiers are proving -- that Indiana is among the elite teams once again this season.

Indiana won the Maui Invitational by beating UMass, Gonzaga and Virginia.

Maryland hasn't played anyone of note just yet, with the best team being Miami of Ohio. But the Terps are crushing everything and everyone in their path, nonetheless.

And the chip on both of the head coach's shoulders, as well as every returning player, is huge heading into this game. Both head coaches know few outside their programs thought either could get their teams back to the Final Four, or at the very least, remain part of the discussion.

Neither Davis or Williams hide behind coachspeak. Refreshing, really, because both are willing to tell it like it is. And both believe they have team with legitimate chances of contending not only in their respective conferences, but on the national scene as well.

"We're good," Indiana coach Mike Davis said of his Hoosiers after winning the Maui Invitational. "The thing that people don't understand is that our three guards (Coverdale, Kyle Hornsby and freshman Bracey Wright) can shoot the basketball. They can really shoot the basketball. This could be the best shooting team (in the country).

"We force everyone to space out and extend their defense, and if you do that, then we've got (Jeff) Newton and (George) Leach inside to beat you."

When comparing the two teams, Maryland is probably more of a work in progress because Williams is still integrating more newcomers -- five of them -- than Davis' two freshmen guards. But Williams, like Davis, still has a core returning.

For Williams, experience starts and ends, however, with Blake, Drew Nicholas, Ryan Randle and Tahj Holden. Maybe it's why Williams shrugged off any talk earlier in November that the Terps couldn't remain at the level last year's team finished. But that doesn't mean he didn't challenged his team to remain one of the elite, and while other teams in the country are stumbling or not winning as convincingly, the Terps are still cruising as if it were March.

"But, remember, we are different than last year," Williams said. "At this time last year, we were a good team. This year, we are still working on things at this point of the year. Hopefully, we'll be a good team by (the end) of December."

But like Davis, Williams has the luxury of his veteran players to teach his system to the newcomers. The first few practices saw two Maryland teams -- one that knew the system and the other that was making mistakes and playing catchup. The gap is closing fast.

	“	Remember, we are different than last year. At this time last year, we were a good team ... We are looking forward to this as a test for out team at this time of year, to see where we are. ”
		— Gary Williams, Maryland head coach

Indiana, meanwhile, didn't even have that lapse with only trying to integrate freshmen Bracey Wright and Marshall Strickland. And, for the first time since Davis has been head coach, he doesn't have to teach his system from scratch. When he got the job after Bob Knight was fired, he had only a month to integrate a pro-style system. It ultimately helped Jared Jeffries and Kirk Haston, but the team never was confident enough in it to excel in the NCAAs.

A year ago, the message was clearer, but Davis admits he got away from his own intentions by mixing the offense up, trying to get it too set prior to a game with Kentucky. The Hoosiers lost, and then were even more confused in a loss to Butler. He went back to his freelance system in the Big Ten and the Hoosiers thrived.

"We really had no system offensively those first few months when I got the job because we were so far behind," Davis said. "Last year, I made the mistake trying to go to a movement offense for Kentucky. I learned as a young coach that you couldn't do that.

"We have three seniors on this team that understand our offense and it's not even close to our understanding of everything," Davis said. "We try to force you to extend your defense. If you can do that then it becomes difficult to guard us one-on-one unless you're just way better than us."

And that's why Coverdale and Wright can shoot deep 3s.

"We're so spread out that teams aren't going to guard us that far away from the basket," Davis said. "And if they do, then that could open up something for Newton and Leach to go one-on-one. No one knows what we're going to do. We're not predictable."

While Davis is building through offense, he demands defensive intensity, just not to the extent of Williams, who wants the Terps to build their offense around their defensive effort. And he pushes them to produce at that end first. But again, the teams mirror each other when it comes to senior leadership in this area. Williams is getting it from Blake, just as Davis is getting it from Coverdale. Nicholas, Holden and Randle are stepping into more leadership roles and productive roles, just like Newton, Hornsby and Leach are for the Hoosiers.

The rematch of the title game obviously isn't a real rematch with Maryland minus Juan Dixon, Chris Wilcox and Lonny Baxter -- each playing in the NBA -- and Indiana without Jared Jeffries, himself in the League next to MJ. But the made-for-TV event is still one of the better early-season games because both of these teams are better than their preseason rankings -- No. 15 (Maryland) and No. 21 (Indiana).

"This game isn't about the national championship," Davis said. "We're just trying to get a good seed in the NCAA Tournament.

"I respect coach Williams because he's so tough. He's a very good basketball coach who is really intense. He won't allow his teams to do anything but play hard. I like playing games against a coach like him, really good coaches because it forces you to watch extra tape. It's not about competing against him, but it helps you prepare and that is good for me as a coach."

So, ultimately this game will be good for Indiana, good for Maryland and good for this week's slate of games as the best matchup in the Challenge. But it's not because of the rematch. This game has merit because both teams feel underrated, play with as much if not more passion than most, and have just as much a chance of making a run for their respective conference titles as any other elite team in the Big Ten or ACC.

"We are looking forward to this as a test for out team at this time of year, to see where we are," Williams said.

For both Maryland and Indiana, not as far away as we thought from what we saw in Atlanta.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.