Maryland Basketball Hosts Delaware State
11/19/2001 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 19, 2001
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland (No. 6 AP, No. 5 USA Today/ESPN) hosts Delaware State in just the third meeting ever between the schools. Tipoff is 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 24.
* Maryland beat the Hornets 87-53 in their first meeting, on Nov. 25, 1989 - in what was Gary Williams' first game as Maryland's head coach. The Terps later beat Delaware State 118-55 on Jan. 17, 1996.
* Maryland has won two straight games since losing its opener, against Arizona in the Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic. The Terrapins upended American University last Saturday, 83-53, behind 25 points from Lonny Baxter and 22 from Juan Dixon. The Terps opened a 31-8 lead before coasting to what was the 244th victory in Gary Williams' 13-year Maryland coaching career, moving past his own former coach, Bud Millikan, as the second-winningest coach in school history.
TERP STREAKS
* Maryland owns the nation's longest non-conference homecourt win streak which spans 78 games and more than 11 years. The Terps' last non-league home defeat was on Dec. 12, 1989 vs. Coppin State. The streak began on Dec. 30, 1989 against Alcorn State.
* Maryland has played 117 consecutive home games at Cole Field House since suffering consecutive home defeats. The last time Maryland lost back-to-back home dates was during the 1992-93 season.
* Maryland has won two straight overall, defeating Temple and American.
* The Terps own a four-game home win streak dating to last season, with end of the season victories over NC State, No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 7 Virginia.
* Counting the final month of the 2001 season when the Terps played five NCAA Tournament games and won 10 of their last 12, Maryland has won 12 of its last 15 games.
RECORDS AND RANKINGS
* Maryland is 2-1 after opening its season at the Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic, and beating American 83-53 last Saturday. The Terrapins finished their 2001 season with a 25-11 record and their first trip to the Final Four.
* Delaware State is 1-0 following a 69-57 home-opening win over Hartford last Friday. The Hornets play at Maine on Tuesday before traveling to Maryland.
* Maryland is No. 6 by the Associated Press this week and No. 5 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll. Delaware State is unranked. Other Maryland opponents and ACC teams in this week's rankings (AP, USA Today/ESPN): Duke (1,1), Illinois (2,2), Arizona (8,7), Virginia (11,10), Temple (25,rv) and Oklahoma (rv, 23).
ON DECK
* The Terrapins battle No. 2 Illinois on Tuesday, Nov. 27 as the opening game of the 2001 ACC/Big 10 Challenge. The Terps and Illini have split tournament meetings in each of the last two seasons - last year at the Maui Invitational and two seasons ago at the BB&T Classic. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
* The Terps co-host the annual BB&T Classic with George Washington on Dec. 2 and 3 at the MCI Center. Maryland meets Princeton at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2, followed by GW vs. Connecticut. Game times on Monday evening, Dec. 3 are 5:30 and 8 p.m. All four tournament games will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet. Maryland is the defending champion.
CONSISTENCY & EXCELLENCE
* Maryland is the only school in the nation that has achieved each of the following:
- Appeared in each of the last eight NCAA Tournaments (Arizona, Cincinnati, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Temple and UCLA).
- Advanced to the Sweet Sixteen at least five times during that eight-year span since 1994 (Arizona, Connecticut, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland).
- Won at least 25 games over each of the past three seasons (Duke, Maryland, Michigan State, Stanford, Cincinnati, Gonzaga).
TERPS' BEST ERA
* Gary Williams and the 2001 Terrapins established the current era as the best in Maryland history.
- The Terps' 78 wins since the 1999 campaign (28-6, 25-10, 25-10) is the best three-year stretch in history.
- Maryland won 99 games from 1998 to 2001 (21-11, 28-6, 25-10, 25-10) to establish the best four-year stretch in history.
- With the West Region championship win over Stanford, the Terps established the best five-year stretch in Maryland history, winning 120 games since 1997 (21-11, 21-11, 28-6, 25-10, 25-10).
