Nov. 22, 2002

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - University of Maryland (No. 12 AP, No. 15 USA Today/ESPN) hosts its first official men's basketball game at Comcast Center on Sunday night, Nov. 24 (5 p.m., ESPN2). Highlighting the event is the unveiling of the Terrapins' national championship banner, to commemorate Maryland's 64-52 win over Indiana on April 1, 2002, in the NCAA championship final.

* Sunday's game in the nation's newest and most state-of-the-art facility is scheduled to attract a capacity crowd (17,950) which will set a new Maryland record for single-game home attendance.

* Fans are encouraged to arrive early to Sunday's game. Pregame ceremonies are scheduled to begin at approximately 4:45 p.m. Tipoff is at 5:01 p.m.

* Maryland begins its 80th consecutive basketball season on Sunday night, in what is its fourth venue. Comcast Center becomes the fourth home to Terrapin basketball, following: The Gymnasium (1923-24 to 1930-31); Ritchie Coliseum (1931-32 to 1954-55); and Cole Field House (1955-56 to 2001-02).

* Sunday's game is the season opener for the Terrapins, who finished the 2002 campaign as national champions. Maryland was 32-4 last season. The Terps' 15-1 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference was good for the league's regular season title and the school's best finish in ACC history.

* Miami University visits College Park after opening its 2002-03 season at Purdue on Friday evening. The RedHawks were 13-18 last season, with a 9-9 finish in the Mid-America Conference.

TERP NOTES & STORYLINES
* Sunday's game is Maryland's first as defending national champions, however the roster is considerably younger than it was six months ago. The Terps return five seniors with considerable experience - including the nation's most experienced point guard in Steve Blake - but have five newcomers that are new to the program since last season's championship run.

* Maryland has played a pair of exhibition games at Comcast Center prior to Sunday's regular season opener. The Terps beat the Harlem Globetrotters, 97-79, on Nov. 12 behind 32 points from Drew Nicholas. Maryland beat the EA Sports All-Stars 95-60 behind five different double-figure scorers, including 18 points from Ryan Randle.

* Sunday's game will mark the largest crowd ever to attend a Maryland home basketball game. The previous record for home attendance was a Cole Field House crowd of 15,287 vs. North Carolina on Feb. 16, 1972. In that game, No. 19 Maryland upset No. 3 North Carolina in overtime, 79-77. Since that time, Cole Field House has seen regular sellout crowds with listed capacity at 14,500.

* Maryland opens the 2002-03 season with a six-game win streak intact from last season. Overall, the Terps have been winners of 19 of their last 20, and 24 of their last 26.

* The Terps own an 18-game home win streak dating to their last loss on Feb. 14, 2001 - 74-71 to Florida State. It is the team's longest overall homecourt streak since a 21-game streak between the 1993-94 (1), '94-95 (16) and '95-96 (4) seasons. Maryland's longest home win streak of all-time is 24 games.

* Maryland has played 131 consecutive home games since suffering consecutive home defeats. The last time Maryland lost back-to-back home dates was during the 1992-93 season.

* Maryland owns the nation's longest non-conference homecourt win streak which spans 84 games and over 12 years. The streak began on Dec. 30, 1989 against Alcorn State. The Terps' last non-league home defeat was on Dec. 12, 1989 vs. Coppin State. The streak will continue at the Comcast Center in 2002-03.

* Senior point guard Steve Blake enters Sunday's game with 751 assists, 249 from becoming the fourth Division I player in history to reach 1,000 assists. The only others are all former ACC players - Bobby Hurley (1,076), Chris Corchiani (1,038) and Ed Cota (1,030). Blake is the nation's active leader in career assists, averaging 7.06 per game.

* Blake led the ACC in assists as a sophomore (6.9) and a junior (7.9), and ranked second in the country last season while guiding Maryland to the NCAA title.

* Steve Blake and Drew Nicholas both are on pace to reach 1,000 points for their careers. Blake is 221 points shy of the plateau. Nicholas is 331 points shy. Both have played in 107 career games at Maryland, including 13 appearances in NCAA Tournament games.

* Maryland's senior class is presently 82-25 entering Sunday's game against Miami. Blake and Nicholas have appeared in all 107 games to date, with Tahj Holden playing in 98.

ON DECK
* Maryland's game on Sunday is the first of three straight home games to open Comcast Center during the first week of the regular season. Maryland hosts The Citadel on Wednesday, Nov. 27 (8:00 p.m.) on Comcast SportsNet. The Terps host Duquesne on Saturday, Nov. 30 (8:00 p.m.) on Raycom-Jefferson Pilot.

* The Terps make their first road trip while battling Indiana in a rematch of last spring's national championship game. At Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the Terps and Hoosiers will grapple in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday, Dec. 3 (9:00 p.m., ESPN).

* The Terps play six games during their first two weeks of the season, including its annual participation in the BB&T Classic at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 7 & 8. Co-host George Washington battles Texas on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 1 p.m., followed by the Terps and Notre Dame at 3:30. Winners and losers meet during consolation and championship games on Sunday at 1 and 3:30 p.m. All games are televised live on Comcast SportsNet.

CONSISTENCY & EXCELLENCE
* The defending national champion Terrapins are the only team in the nation that has achieved ALL of the following:

- Appeared in each of the last nine NCAA Tournaments from 1994 to 2002 (Arizona, Cincinnati, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and UCLA).
- Advanced to the Sweet Sixteen at least six times since 1994 (Arizona, Connecticut, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland).
- Won at least 25 games over each of the past four seasons from 1999 to 2002 (Duke, Maryland, Cincinnati andGonzaga).