Nov. 6, 2001
Maryland vs. Arizona Game Notes in PDF Format
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. --Maryland opens the 2001-02 season on Thursday evening from Madison Square Garden as the No. 2-ranked Terrapins take on Arizona. Following are notes for the game:
THE GAME
* Maryland (No. 2 AP, No. 3 USA Today/ESPN) meets Arizona to open the 2001-02 regular season in a battle between returning contenders from last season's NCAA Final Four. The Terps and Wildcats both were upended by Duke in the Final Four: Maryland falling 95-84 in the national semifinal and Arizona 82-72 in the national championship game.
* Maryland opens the 2001-02 campaign with its loftiest AP preseason ranking in history - No. 2. The Terrapins' No. 3 preseason rank by USA Today/ESPN matches its previous high (both polls in 1972 and 1975).
* Gary Wiliams is one win from tying his own Maryland coach, Bud Millikan, as the second-winningest coach in Terp history. Millikan retired following the 1967 season with 243 wins. Williams currently boasts 242 after 12 full seasons at Maryland. Williams is also one win from earning the 450th of his 24-year head coaching career.
* Maryland opens the regular season following a 98-80 exhibition win over the EA Sports Southeast All-Stars on Nov. 2. Senior center Lonny Baxter led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds while senior guard Juan Dixon scored 20 points with eight assists. Chris Wilcox started the second half and posted 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting, mostly dunks. Junior guard Steve Blake added 14 points and nine assists, and shot 9-of-10 from the free throw stripe.
* The Terps open the season against a defending Final Four participant for just the second time in their history. It is the first time since traveling to UCLA on Dec. 1, 1973, following the Bruins' seventh straight national championship in 1972.
* Maryland's season-opener on Thursday is the earliest the Terps have ever opened a regular season. The earliest Maryland has ever opened before was on Nov. 14, during each of the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons. Maryland fell to No. 7 South Carolina in overtime, 76-72, at the Black Coaches Association Classic in Minneapolis on Nov. 14, 1997. The Terps blitzed Western Carolina 113-46 a year later in what is the second-largest margin of victory in Maryland history.
* Maryland is 55-23 (.705) in season openers during 78 consecutive seasons since 1923-24. The Terps are 10-2 in season-opening games since 1989-90 under Gary Williams, losing only to No. 1-ranked Kentucky in 1995 and No. 7-ranked South Carolina in 1997.
* Maryland re-visits Madison Square Garden where just two seasons ago the Terps fell to Kentucky and beat Notre Dame for third place in the Preseason NIT. Overall, Maryland is 8-1 at The Garden including its first-ever NCAA Tournament game in 1958 - an 86-63 East Region first round win over Boston College.
RECORDS AND RANKINGS
* Arizona, Florida, Maryland and Temple all open their regular seasons in New York City this week.
* The Terrapins finished their 2001 season with a 25-11 record and their first trip to the Final Four. Arizona, which played for the national championship, was 28-8 a year ago. Florida was 24-7 and fell to Temple in the NCAA second round. The Owls, 24-13 last season, fell to Michigan State in a regional final.
* Maryland is No. 2 in the AP preseason poll and No. 3 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll. Florida is No. 6 by AP and No. 5 by USA Today/ESPN. Temple is No. 16 and 17, respectively. Arizona was among teams receiving votes in both polls.
TERPS VS. IKON CLASSIC FIELD
* All-time, Maryland has combined for a 3-5 mark against Arizona, Florida and Temple.
* On Thursday, the Terps seek their first-ever victory over Arizona, having lost tournament matchups in 1963 and 1998. Most recently, Arizona defeated Maryland 97-90 in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in Anaheim in 1998.
* Maryland has not met Florida since 1932 when the Terps lost to the Gators in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament in Atlanta, 39-24.
* The Terps are 2-3 overall against Temple, last meeting the Owls in Philadelphia for a 73-65 loss on Feb. 13, 2000. The No. 19 Owls bested No. 23 Maryland to end a four-game Terps' winning streak, four days after Maryland beat Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium to end the nation's longest win streak. Two seasons earlier, Maryland upset No. 24 Temple at Baltimore Arena, 83-66. The Terps and Owls have met just twice since Maryland beat Temple in the Maryland Invitational in 1979.
ABOUT THE IKON CLASSIC
* Since 1996 the IKON Classic, produced by The Gazelle Group, has raised over $1,500,000 for the American Cancer Society and its Coaches vs. Cancer program.
* The Coaches vs. Cancer program is a joint collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Coaches vs. Cancer is an initiative dedicated to defeating cancer using contributions raised to help fund cancer research, education, advocacy and patient services offered by the American Cancer Society.
* IKON Office Solutions is the title sponsor of the IKON Classic. One of the world's leading providers of products and services that help businesses communicate, IKON offers customers total business solutions for every office, production and outsourcing need.
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).
