Cole Field House Finale: Regular Season Champions Host Rival Virginia
3/2/2002 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 2, 2002
Maryland vs. Virginia Game Notes in PDF Format
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland (No. 2 AP, No. 2 USA Today/ESPN) hosts rival Virginia in the final men's basketball game ever to be played at historic Cole Field House. It is the 637th Maryland game to be hosted at Cole, in its 47th season after a dedication on Dec. 2, 1955 when Maryland defeated the Cavaliers 67-55. Sunday's game will be televised to a national audience on FOX Sports Net. Tipoff is 8 p.m., with postgame ceremonies scheduled to honor the final game at one of the country's most hallowed college basketball arenas.
* Maryland is 24-3 overall and 14-1 in the ACC - recently earning the school's first outright regular season title in the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1980. The Terps boast 11 consecutive wins including a 96-63 rout at Florida State on Wednesday. The win over the Seminoles was Maryland's largest ACC road victory in 49 years, since an 81-41 win at Clemson on Dec. 4, 1953. National Player of the Year Candidate Juan Dixon scored 25 points and added three steals in the win.
* Virginia is 17-9 overall and 7-8 in the ACC after upsetting Duke on Thursday. The Cavaliers had lost seven of their last nine games entering Thursday's game.
* Against Virginia, Maryland has won two straight games, and seven of the last nine meetings. The Terps have won eight consecutive bouts against the Cavaliers at Cole Field House, with UVa last winning in College Park on Feb. 4, 1993, 70-68.
ALL-IN-ONE EVENT IS PLANNED FOR COLE FINALE
* Maryland hosts the final game at Cole Field House after earning its first outright ACC regular season title since 1980. In 49 seasons of ACC basketball, it is only the third outright regular season title for the Terrapins, and their first in 22 years.
* It is Senior Night, with four Terps being honored for playing in their final home game. Two of them, Lonny Baxter and Juan Dixon form the winningest and highest-scoring duo in Maryland history. A third, Byron Mouton has provided senior leadership and a 16-point scoring average over the last nine games. A fourth, walk-on Earl Badu, has been a part of the Maryland team through the finest four-year era in school history.
* After 47 years of hosting the finest competition that college basketball has to offer - from the ACC to six NCAA regionals and a pair of Final Fours - the Terps play their final home game at Cole before moving to the 17,100-seat Comcast Center next season. Maryland is 485-151 all-time at Cole.
* As a part of closing ceremonies on Sunday, the following groups of people will return to honor Cole's final game: the 1955-56 team which was the first to play at Cole, the 1957-58 team which was Maryland's first NCAA Tournament team, Bud Millikan, who was the coach of both of those teams, approximately 30 all-conference players and All-Americans who made Cole their college basketball home, five original season ticket holders from the 1955-56 season, Jimmy Morgan, the original "Voice of the Terps" who served as the team's public address announcer for 23 years.
TERP NOTES & STORYLINES
* Maryland has 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 2002 Terrapins are the first team in school history to begin a season 24-3. Their 14-1 league record also is the best in school history. The Terps can become just the fourth ACC team ever to win 15 or more league games in one season.
* Maryland's 11-game win streak matches the third-longest in history. All ACC games, the 11-game tear also equals the school record for most consecutive ACC victories - begun on Feb. 2, 1974 and ended on Jan. 22, 1975.
* The Terps are bidding to remain undefeated at home during their final season at Cole Field House, winning each of 14 games so far this season. The last time a Maryland team was undefeated at home was in 1994-95 (16-0).
* The Terps own a 17-game home win streak dating to last season, the longest overall homecourt streak since a 21-game streak between the 1993-94 (1), '94-95 (16) and '95-96 (4) seasons.
* Maryland has won 11 straight games, 16 of 17, 24 of its last 26, and 34 of its past 39. Maryland's five losses in the stretch have come to Arizona, Duke (3) and Oklahoma - all on the road.
* The Terrapins have won 18 of their last 19 ACC regular season games dating to last season.
* Maryland senior Juan Dixon needs just six points on Sunday to become the second player ever to amass 1,000 points in Cole's 47-year history. He would need a career-high 35 points to break the Cole career scoring mark of 1,028 points set by Adrian Branch (1982-85).
* Maryland's senior class is presently 102-30 over the last four seasons, marking the most wins by any class in school history. Juan Dixon has played in all 102 victories, breaking the individual mark set last season by departed senior Mike Mardesich (99), Lonny Baxter has now appeared in 99 wins, also. Maryland has set new standards for most wins in a four-year period (102) and a five-year stretch (123). Click here to visit Baxter and Dixon's Thunder & Lightning Website.
* Maryland has played 130 consecutive home games at Cole Field House 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.
ON DECK
* The ACC Tournament takes place at Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, N.C.), March 7-10. The Terps will begin play on Friday, March 8 as the tournament's #1 seed (Noon, RJ/ESPN). The championship game is slated for Sunday, March 10 at 1 p.m. (RJ/ESPN). All games are televised live by ESPN, ESPN2 and/or Raycom-Jefferson Pilot.
