Nov. 5, 2001

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland will open its 2001-02 college basketball season with the highest preseason ranking in its history, as was determined on Monday afternoon when the Associated Press unveiled its first college basketball poll of the season.

With its No. 2 ranking in Monday's AP preseason poll and its No. 3 spot in the USA Today/ESPN preseason poll, Maryland boasts its highest men's basketball rankings in history.

Said Maryland coach Gary Williams, a 1968 Maryland graduate and former point guard, "It's obviously very nice to rated that high in the preseason. But we still have to prove that we're that good."

Maryland's No. 2 preseason ranking by the AP is the highest preseason spot the Terps have ever held. The Terrapins' No. 3 spot in the USA Today/ESPN poll matches the previous preseason high - equaling No. 3 rankings in both polls in 1972 and 1975.

At No. 2 by the AP, it matches the highest that a Maryland basketball team has ever been ranked. It is the 19th time that Maryland has held the No. 2 spot in the AP poll, more times than any other team which has never been No. 1.

The last time that Maryland was No. 2 in either poll was Dec. 7, 1998 when both polls placed Maryland in the second spot following a BB&T Classic championship and a win over No. 5 Stanford. It is the highest preseason ranking of any Gary Williams-led team.

With ACC rival Duke holding the top spot in the AP poll, the Terps and Blue Devils become just the second pair of teams from the same conference to open the season as the AP's top two teams. The only other instance was also from the ACC - No. 1 Georgia Tech and No. 2 North Carolina in 1985-86.

It is the third straight AP preseason poll and fourth in the last five that has two teams from the same conference in the top five. Last year, the ACC also did it with Duke at No. 2 and the Terps at No. 5.

Behind the Devils and Terps, Illinois was ranked No. 3 by the AP, followed by Kentucky and UCLA in the top five. The rest of the top ten included Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and St. Joseph's.

Maryland, 25-11 last season with its first berth to the NCAA Final Four, opens the regular season on Thursday at the Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic at Madison Square Garden, against Arizona, last year's NCAA runner-up to Duke. Tipoff on Thursday is 9 p.m., live on ESPN2. Winners and losers from the Maryland/Arizona matchup will face either Florida or No. 16 Temple in the consolation and championship games on Friday.