Dec. 6, 2002
Maryland vs. Notre Dame Game Notes in PDF Format
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland basketball team (No. 9 AP, No. 8 USA Today/ESPN) faces Notre Dame (RV, RV) in the first round of the eighth annual BB&T Classic, to benefit the Children's Charities Foundation. The Terps and Irish tangle at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7, in the second game of the event's opening day at MCI Center in Washington, D.C. Tournament host George Washington opens the BB&T Classic with a 1 p.m. game against No. 2/2 Texas on Saturday. The championship game will be played on Sunday at 3:30 p.m., following the 1 p.m. consolation game.
All games of the eighth annual BB&T Classic will be televised live on the Raycom-Jefferson Pilot networks, WDCA (UPN-20) in the Washington area and WNUV (WB-54) in Baltimore.
The Terrapins head into the weekend tournament looking to get back on the winning track after a heartbreaking 80-74 loss against No. 10/11 Indiana in a national championship rematch at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Senior guard Steve Blake led the Terps with a career-high 22 points, dealt three assists to move into the NCAA all-time top 25, and nearly beat the buzzer with a half-court bomb at the end of regulation that would have captured the victory. Forward Ryan Randle posted his first double-double with career highs in points (20) and rebounds (16), and Drew Nicholas scored 12 and handed out four assists.
The Fighting Irish enter the tournament following a 92-71 win over No. 10 Marquette on Monday, Dec. 2. Point guard Chris Thomas scored 32 points and added 10 assists in the victory over the Golden Eagles. The sophomore leads the Irish with 18.7 points per game and 6.9 assists.
The Maryland-Notre Dame series is tied at eight heading into Saturday's matchup. The Terps attempt to win their third straight game over the Irish in only their second meeting since 1988. Maryland defeated the Irish, 72-67, in their last meeting on Nov. 26, 1999 in the Preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden. Saturday's contest is the third of the series on a neutral court, as the Terps and Irish alternated home-and-away games every season from 1974-75 to 1987-88.
Top Point Guards Meet In BB&T
Three of the NCAA's top point guards converge in the nation's capital this weekend for the BB&T Classic.
Maryland's Steve Blake, the local favorite, finished second in the nation with 286 assists in 36 games for a 7.9 assist per game average in 2001-02. This season he averages 7.3 assists per game to go along with 11.0 points, 2.0 steals and a .395 3-point percentage.
The University of Texas' T.J. Ford led the nation in assists per game last season, with 273 in 33 games for an 8.3 average. This season he has handed out 7.5 assists per game while averaging 13.8 points.
Notre Dame's Chris Thomas finished fifth in the nation in assist average last season, totaling 252 in 33 games for a 7.6 mark. This year he averages 6.9 assists per game, and is also the Irish's leading scorer with 18.7 points.
Terp Streaks & Storylines
The Terrapins look to capture their third consecutive BB&T Classic championship this weekend, and their fifth overall. The Terps won the BB&T in 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2001. Maryland owns an 11-3 record all-time in the tournament and has won its last four BB&T Classic games.
Maryland re-entered the top 10 in the AP and USA Today/ESPN Coaches Polls, released this week. The Terrapins were No. 11 in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN Polls from Nov. 25 but moved to No. 9/8 on Dec. 2. The Terps were ranked in the top 10 every week of the 2001-02 season.
Senior point guard Steve Blake enters Saturday's game with 780 assists, tying him for 25th on the NCAA all-time career assist chart. He is 220 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 7.03 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. As of the most recent ACC release, Blake is tied for the assist lead in 2002-03 as well.
Maryland began its 80th consecutive basketball season against Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 24, and the Terps own a 3-0 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 own a 21-game home win streak dating to their last loss on Feb. 14, 2001 - 74-71 to Florida State. It matches 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 set between the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons.
Maryland owns the nation's longest non-conference homecourt win streak which spans 87 games and more than 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 began at Cole Field House and continues at Comcast Center in 2002-03.
On Deck
The Terps return home to Comcast Center for their final game before exams on Dec. 14, when SEC opponent No. 8/9 Florida visits at 2 p.m. Maryland will put its 87-game non-conference home win streak on the line against the top 10 foe in a nationally televised matchup on CBS.
Maryland's schedule resumes on Dec. 23 when local-rival UMBC visits Comcast Center. Tip-off is scheduled by 8 p.m. and the game will be aired in the Baltimore/Washington area on Comcast SportsNet.
The Terrapins open conference play after the Christmas 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.
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).
