Terrapins Enter ACC Tournament As No. 1 Seed
3/6/2002 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 6, 2002
ACC Quarterfinal Game Notes in PDF Format
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland (No. 2 AP, No. 2 USA Today/ESPN) begins play in the 49th annual Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament with a quarterfinal matchup against either Clemson or Florida State, on Friday, March 8 at noon. This season's tournament takes place at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C.
* Maryland is the 2002 ACC regular season champion, finishing the regular season with a 25-3 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 will meet either Clemson or Florida State in Friday's quarterfinal matchup. The #9 seed Tigers and #8 seed Seminoles play in Thursday's play-in game for the right to meet the Terps on Friday. Clemson finished the regular season 13-16 overall and 4-12 in the ACC. FSU was 11-16 and 4-12.
* Maryland has won nine straight games over Clemson leading into the ACC Tournament, and is 9-1 against the Tigers in previous ACC Tournament action. Against Florida State, Maryland has won two straight and 12 of the last 13 meetings. Maryland is 3-0 in ACC Tournament play against the Seminoles.
TERP NOTES & STORYLINES
* The Terps enter the ACC Tournament as the only school with seven straight trips to the ACC semifinals. With at least one win in seven straight appearances (1995-01), the Terps and North Carolina (1979-85) share the second-longest streak in tournament history. Duke holds the record with 12 consecutive tournaments with at least one win, from 1958 to 1969.
* 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 last time Maryland was a #1 seed in the ACC Tournament was in 1980, when the tournament was held in Greensboro and the Terps fell to #6 seed Duke in the final, 73-72.
* The 2002 Terrapins have concluded the best regular season in Maryland history, 25-3. Their 15-1 league record also is 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 25 games for a record fourth consecutive season.
* Maryland has won 12 straight games, 17 of 18, 25 of its last 27, and 35 of its past 40. Maryland's five losses in the 40-game stretch have come to Arizona, Duke (3) and Oklahoma - all on the road.
* Maryland's 12-game win streak is the third-longest in school history. The record of 14 games is shared between a streak combining the 1972 and 1973 seasons, and another dating to the 1932 season.
* All ACC games, the Terps' 12-game tear also is a school record for most consecutive ACC victories, breaking the old 11-game mark which began on Feb. 2, 1974 and ended on Jan. 22, 1975.
* The Terrapins finished the regular season having won 19 of their last 20 ACC regular season games dating to 2000-01.
* Juan Dixon became the eighth Maryland player in history to receive first team All-America status, being named this 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 103-30 over the last four seasons, marking the most wins by any class in school history. Juan Dixon has played in all 103 victories, and Lonny Baxter in 100. Maryland has set new standards for most wins in a four-year period (103) and a five-year stretch (124).
* The Terps' No. 2 ranking on March 4 matches the latest in a season that Maryland has ever been ranked so high. It was on March 4, 1975 (also No. 2) that the Terrapins last were ranked so high this late in a season. The following week they fell to No. 4 following an ACC Tournament first round loss to NC State.
* The Terps finished 15-0 at home in 2002, completing the fourth undefeated season in Cole Field House history, and the fifth undefeated home campaign overall.
* The Terps own an 18-game home win streak which encompasses the 2000-01 (3) and 2001-02 (15) seasons. It is 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 played 131 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). All games are televised live by ESPN, ESPN2 and/or Raycom-Jefferson Pilot.
* NCAA Tournament selections are announced during the NCAA Selection Show on CBS-TV, on Sunday, March 10 at 6:00 p.m. ET.
