University of Maryland Athletics

Men's Basketball Looks To Get Back On Track Vs. Local Rival UMBC

Men's Basketball Maryland Athletics

Men's Basketball Looks To Get Back On Track Vs. Local Rival UMBC

Dec. 20, 2002

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland basketball team (No. 24 AP, No. 23 USA Today/ESPN) returns to action on Monday, Dec. 23, following a nine-day break for exams. The Terps meet local rival UMBC at 8 p.m. at Comcast Center in a game that will be televised regionally on Comcast SportsNet.

  • The Terrapins head into Monday's matchup looking to get back on track after a rare non-conference home loss. The Terrapins fell 69-64 to now No. 13/13 Florida. Three Terrapins scored in double figures, led by the second career double-double of senior forward Ryan Randle (18 pts., 10 rebs.). Guard Drew Nicholas posted his seventh double-digit scoring game of the season (in as many chances) with 13 points, and rookie point guard John Gilchrist put forth his most complete effort as a Terrapin, with a career-best tying 10 points, four rebounds and four assists in a career-high 22 minutes.
  • The Retrievers are 3-2 on the year, having earned three consecutive victories to open the 2002-03 season. UMBC has fallen in two straight games, however, after winning the 'Battle of Baltimore' early on and posting a home win against Mount St. Mary's. UMBC hosts Santa Clara on Friday, Dec. 20, before facing the Terps on Dec. 23.
  • The Terrapins hold a 12-0 advantage over the Retrievers in a series that dates to 1987. Juan Dixon scored 23 points and Lonny Baxter added 17 in the last meeting, a 93-67 Terp victory at Cole Field House on Dec. 13, 2000. In six meetings since 1994, Maryland has won each game by at least 20 points. Gary Williams is 11-0 against UMBC, including a victory while at Ohio State in the 1987-88 season.

    Terp Streaks & Storylines

  • Maryland is ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll and No. 23 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, released Dec. 16. The Terrapins were No. 14/17 in the previous AP and USA Today/ESPN Polls from Dec. 9. The Terps have been ranked in the AP top 25 for 60 consecutive weeks, and the USA Today/ESPN top 25 for 53 straight votes.
  • Maryland has played 136 consecutive home games since suffering consecutive home defeats. The last time Maryland lost back-to-back home dates was against No. 6 North Carolina (77-63, Feb. 9) and No. 10 Florida State (87-84, Feb. 13), during the 1992-93 season.
  • Senior point guard Steve Blake enters Monday's game with 797 assists, placing him 23rd on the NCAA all-time career assist chart. He is 203 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 6.99 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.
  • True freshman Nik Caner-Medley drew the first two starts of his Terrapin career against Notre Dame and George Washington in the BB&T Classic, and also started against Florida. The last true freshman to play for the Terrapins in a starting role was Steve Blake, in the 1999-00 season.
  • An early trend in the young season, the Terrapins have outshot six of their first seven opponents from the field (.451 vs. .354), and have held four opponents to less than 33% shooting, including now-No. 6 Indiana.
  • Maryland began its 80th consecutive basketball season against Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 24, and the Terps own a 3-1 record in the $125 million, 17,950-seat Comcast Center. Comcast is historically the fourth home of 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).
  • The Terps look to start a new home win streak after posting 21 straight victories in College Park before their loss to Florida. That 21-game stretch dated to their last loss on Feb. 14, 2001 -- 74-71 to Florida State. The victories had spanned three seasons -- 2000-01 (3), 2001-02 (15), 2002-03 (3). Maryland's longest home win streak of all-time is 24 games set between the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons.
  • Maryland looks to begin a new non-conference homecourt win streak, after holding the nation's longest which ended at 87 games. The streak began on Dec. 30, 1989 against Alcorn State and ended against Florida on Dec. 14. The Terps' previous non-league home loss was on Dec. 12, 1989 vs. Coppin State. The streak began at Cole Field House and continued at Comcast Center with three non-conference home victories in 2002-03.

    On Deck

  • The Terrapins open conference play after the holiday with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Dec. 29. Maryland clashes with its first ACC rival on FOX Sports Net, for the first time this season, at 5:30 p.m.
  • TIME CHANGE -- Maryland's first opponent of the New Year will be the Wagner Seahawks of the Northeast Conference. The Terps meet Wagner in Comcast Center on Jan. 4 at 4 p.m. in a game that will be televised live by the Raycom-Jefferson Pilot Network. It was originally scheduled for 1 p.m.
  • The Hampton Pirates of the MEAC visit Comcast Center on Jan. 8, in a game that will also be aired live by the Raycom-Jefferson Pilot Network. That game is scheduled to tipoff at 8 p.m.
  • ACC play continues at home when the Florida State Seminoles make their first trip to Comcast Center on Saturday, Jan. 11. The 1:30 p.m. contest between the Terps and Seminoles will air on Raycom-Jefferson Pilot Networks.

    Consistency & Excellence

  • Maryland made a repeat appearance at the NCAA Final Four last season and is the ONLY school in the nation that has advanced to the Elite Eight in each of the past two seasons.
  • The Terps also are the ONLY school to have 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, Gonzaga).
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