March 31, 2002

GAME: No. 5 Indiana (25-11) vs. No. 1 Maryland (31-4)
ROUND: National Championship
TIME: Monday, 9:18 p.m. EST
SITE: The Georgia Dome, Atlanta

Maryland entered the NCAA tournament as one of the favorites to win the national championship.

Then again, so did some of the other teams Indiana has already beaten.

The Terrapins try to capture their first national title Monday night when they face the Hoosiers, who could pull off one last surprise by winning their sixth.

After reaching the 2001 Final Four and returning the core of that team, the Terrapins began this season with high expectations.

The Hoosiers, on the other hand, began with question marks. They were a perennial power during most of Bob Knight's tenure, but were not expected to be in the second season under Mike Davis, who took over when Knight was fired.

Maryland has lived up to its expectations. The Hoosiers have exceeded theirs.

"I just know, reading about them, seeing them play during the year, how tough they are, how driven they are this year," Maryland coach Gary Williams said of Indiana. "They seem to be on a mission. I think they had a lot of courage to play as hard as they did."

Williams' team has been the most impressive team in the tournament. With powerful inside play from Lonny Baxter, strong play from Juan Dixon on the perimeter and good bench contributions, the Terrapins have averaged 87.4 points in the tournament.

Maryland built a big lead midway through the second half and held on to beat Kansas 97-88 on Saturday night. Dixon made a number of key plays down the stretch and finished with 33 points for the Terrapins, who overcame Baxter scoring just four points as he was plagued by foul trouble.

"Juan Dixon is probably one of the best competitors in the country. He wants to win in the worst way," Davis said. "He's a tough guy."

Dixon is the leading scorer in the tournament with 137 points, while Baxter is tied for sixth despite his quiet night Saturday.

Unlike Maryland, Indiana seemingly has no stars. It hasn't mattered.

The Hoosiers, who upset defending champion Duke in the third round, knocked off another pre-tournament favorite Saturday night by beating Oklahoma 73-64. The Hoosiers got little offense from Jared Jeffries, their best player, but still shot 52.1 percent against one of the nation's most respected defensive teams.

Indiana's offense has come alive in the tournament. The Hoosiers have shot 50 percent or better in all five games and are the top shooting team from the field at 55.1 percent. Reserves Jeff Newton and A.J. Moye are shooting 79.3 and 68.4 percent, respectively.

The Hoosiers have been even better from 3-point range. Indiana was 6-for-6 in the second half Saturday night and is 23-of-32 (71.9 percent) in its last two games.

Much of that scoring has come from the reserves, who have outscored the opposition 126-65 in the tournament. Indiana's bench outscored Oklahoma's 41-12.

"That's what a national championship team is about. It is a team game," reserve guard Donald Perry said. "You cannot do it with just one or two guys. You have to have a whole team playing together.

"I think we have a good team and if every one plays well in their role then we win."

If that happens, Indiana could make more NCAA tournament history. The Hoosiers would become the first No. 5 seed to win the championship and tie the 1988 Kansas team for the most losses by a national champion.

It will take more than a good offensive night to beat Maryland, however. Connecticut and Kansas both scored more than 80 points, only to find that the Terps had too many weapons.

Besides Dixon's strong play Saturday, Maryland got 30 points from starting forwards Byron Mouton and Chris Wilcox, and 22 points from its bench. That allowed the Terps to survive with only 14 minutes from Baxter, the Most Outstanding Player of the East Regional.

"This team has never gone away in any tough situation," Williams said. "We've gotten beat but teams have really had to make a great effort to get us."

Dixon will likely be covered by Dane Fife, who has shut down the opposition's top guard in two straight games. Fife, the Big Ten defensive player of the year, limited Oklahoma's Hollis Price to six points on 1-for-11 shooting on Saturday after holding Kent State's Trevor Huffman to eight points on 2-for-7 in the South Regional final.

The other guard spot could see freshman Perry getting more time for Indiana. With starter Tom Coverdale struggling with his injured ankle on Saturday, Perry responded by scoring a career-high 10 points.

Indiana is 5-0 in championship games and has won all four meetings against Maryland.

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Indiana - F Jeffries (15.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg), F Kyle Hornsby (7.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg), F Jarred Odle (9.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg), G Fife (8.6 ppg, 2.6 apg), G Coverdale (12.0 ppg, 4.9 apg) or G Perry (2.6 ppg, 1.2 apg).

Maryland - F Wilcox (12.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg), F Mouton (11.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg), C Baxter (15.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg), G Dixon (20.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg), G Steve Blake (8.0 ppg, 8.1 apg).

HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Indiana - At-large bid, Big Ten, beat No. 12 Utah 75-56, first round, beat No. 13 NC-Wilmington 76-67, second round, beat No. 1 Duke 74-73, South Regional semifinal, beat No. 10 Kent State 81-69, regional final, beat No. 2 Oklahoma 73-64, national semifinal.

Maryland - At-large bid, Atlantic Coast Conference, beat No. 16 Siena 85-70, first round, beat No. 8 Wisconsin 87-57, second round, beat No. 4 Kentucky 78-68, East Regional semifinal, beat No. 2 Connecticut 90-82, regional final, beat No. 1 Kansas 97-88, national semifinal.

ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD:
Indiana - 57-25, 31 years.

Maryland - 28-17, 18 years.