Terps To Play In Ninth Consecutive NCAA Tournament
3/10/2002 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 10, 2002
Selection Sunday NCAA Tournament Notes in PDF Format
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland will play in its ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament under head coach Gary Williams.
* Maryland advanced to the 2001 Final Four, making its first Final Four appearance in school history. Last season's trip to the Final Four began when the Terps ended a six-game win streak with an 84-82 loss in the ACC Tournament semifinals. On Saturday, Maryland's 13-game win streak was snapped in an 86-82 loss in the ACC semis.
* Maryland is the only school in the nation that has achieved each of the following: - Appeared in each of eight NCAA Tournaments from 1994 to 2002 (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 during each of the 1999, 2000 and 2001 seasons (Duke, Maryland, Michigan State, Stanford, Cincinnati, Gonzaga).
* Maryland has now advanced to nine straight NCAA Tournaments, and has won at least 25 games in a fourth consecutive season. Maryland, Cincinnati, Duke and Gonzaga are the only four schools who currently have won at least 25 games in each of the 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 seasons.
* The Terps have been ranked No. 2 or No. 3 in nine consecutive weeks in both major polls (through polls of March 4). The highest that Maryland has ever been ranked entering an NCAA Tournament was No. 4 in 1975, when the Terrapins advanced to the Elite Eight.
* More NCAA Tournament notes as the Terps await their placement on Selection Sunday: - Maryland has never been a No. 1 seed.
- Maryland has been a No. 2 seed just twice: 1999 and 1980.
- Maryland has been a top-three seed in three consecutive seasons, a top-four seed in four consecutive seasons, and a top-five sead in five straight years.
- The Terps have been a top-five seed in six of the past seven years.
- The last time that Maryland remained in the East Region was in 1980. Its only other East Region appearances were in 1958 and 1973, both since the expansion of the bracket to 64/65 teams.
- Maryland has gone 22 years and 14 NCAA Tournaments since it last played in the East Region.
- Since Maryland's last selection to the East Region in 1980, the Terps have traveled the nation - Mideast (1981, 1984), Midwest (1983, 1994, 2000), Southeast (1985, 1988, 1997, 1999), West (1986, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001).
* Gary Williams is Maryland's winningest coach in NCAA Tournament history, boasting a 13-8 record in eight previous appearances. He is 17-11 in the NCAA Tournament overall, including stops at Boston College and Ohio State.
TERP NOTES & STORYLINES * Maryland is the 2002 ACC regular season champion, boasting a 26-4 overall record. The Terrapins earned the school's first outright regular season title in the ACC since 1980 with a 15-1 mark in the league.
* Maryland won its first outright ACC regular season title since 1980 (11-3) and just the third in school history. Maryland's only other regular season crown was in 1975 (10-2). The Terps split a four-way tie with a 12-4 ACC record in 1995.
* The Terrapins were eliminated in the ACC Tournament by #4 seed NC State in Saturday's semifinal, 86-82. Maryland is the only team in the ACC to advanced to the semfinal round in each of the last eight seasons.
* The Terps' 26-point ACC quarterfinal win over Florida State was the school's largest victory margin in an ACC Tournament game, surpassing a 24-point win (93-69) over the Seminoles in a 1999 quarterfinal game.
* The 2002 Terrapins concluded the best regular season in Maryland history with a 25-3 record. Their 15-1 ACC mark also was the best in school history. The Terps are just the fourth ACC team ever to win 15 or more league games in one season.
* Maryland has won 13 of its last 14 games and 18 of its last 20. Prior to the loss to NC State, Maryland's stretch of 26 wins in 28 games was the best stretch in school history.
* Maryland's 13-game win streak, ended in the ACC Tournament, was the third-longest in school history.
* Juan Dixon became the eighth Maryland player in history to receive first team All-America status, being named last week as a first team selection on All-America teams selected by the NABC and USBWA. He is the second first team All-American at Maryland under Gary Williams.
* The USBWA selected Gary Williams as the District III Coach of the Year. Dixon and Williams both are candidates for various national coach and player of the year awards.
* All five Maryland starters received mention in the ACC's annual voting for all-conference teams. Juan Dixon was an ACC first team selection for the third straight season while Lonny Baxter was named to the second team. Point guard Steve Blake joined Chris Wilcox on the third team, and senior tri-captain Byron Mouton received honorable mention consideration. Dixon, Maryland's first unanimous selection since Len Bias in 1986, is the only Maryland player besides John Lucas to earn first team All-ACC honors in three straight seasons.
* Maryland's senior class is presently 104-31 over the last four seasons, marking the most wins by any class in school history. Juan Dixon has played in all 104 victories, and Lonny Baxter in 101. Maryland has set new standards for most wins in a four-year period (104) and a five-year stretch (125).
* Dixon is just 36 points shy of becoming the Terps' career scoring leader. He leads all active career scoring leaders in this season's NCAA Tournament. He has scored in double figures in 48 consecutive games, also the longest among NCAA Tournament participants.
* Point guard Steve Blake boasts 711 career assists as just a junior. Already Maryland's career leader, he is on pace to become just the fourth player in NCAA history with 1,000 in his career. He averages 7.03 per game for his career, and his 8.2 average in 2002 is second in the country behind T.J. Ford of Texas.
ON DECK * NCAA Tournament selections are announced during the NCAA Selection Show on CBS-TV, on Sunday, March 10 at 6:00 p.m. ET.
