Terps Run ACC Semifinal Streak To Eight Years
3/9/2002 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 9, 2002
Maryland vs. NC State Game Notes in PDF Format
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. --Maryland (No. 2 AP, No. 2 USA Today/ESPN) won its ACC Tournament quarterfinal matchup against Florida State on Friday, 85-59, to advance to the ACC Tournament semifinal round for the eighth consecutive season - the longest streak in the league. Maryland meets NC State at 1:30 p.m., on Saturday, in a game televised from the Charlotte Coliseum by ESPN and Raycom-Jefferson Pilot Sports.
* Maryland is the 2002 ACC regular season champion, boasting a 26-3 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.
* NC State, the tournament's #3 seed, advanced to the semifinal round with a 92-72 win over Virginia. NC State is 21-9 overall after finishing with a 9-7 slate in the ACC regular season.
TERP NOTES & STORYLINES
* The Terps boast an eight-year streak of appearances in the ACC Tournament semifinals, the longest active streak in the league. The last time the Terrapins failed to reach the ACC semis was in 1995 when #4-seed Maryland fell to #5 Virginia. Maryland's streak is the second-longest streak in ACC Tournament history. Duke holds the record with 12 consecutive tournaments with at least one win, from 1958 to 1969.
* The Terps' 26-point 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.
* Maryland has won six straight games over the Wolfpack. The Terps have won 10 of the last 11 meetings, 16 of 18, and 21 of of the last 24 games since Jan. 11, 1992.
* Saturday's semifinal pits the Terps and Wolfpack together in a renewal of one of the tournament's most storied rivalries, dating to back-to-back championship meetings in 1973 and 1974. Maryland is just 5-10 all-time against NC State in the ACC Tournament, last meeting in the 2000 semifinals when the Terps won 64-61, en route to their last championship appearance.
* The Terps and 'Pack have met in the ACC Tournament just three times since Gary Williams took over the Maryland program in 1989-90 - #8 Maryland 76, #9 NC State 55 in a 1993 first round game, #8 NC State def. #5 Maryland 65-58 in a 1997 semifinal, #2 Maryland def. #6 NC State 64-61 in a 2000 semifinal.
* 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 at least 25 games for a record fourth consecutive season.
* Maryland has won 13 straight games, 18 of 19, 26 of its last 28, and 36 of its past 41. Maryland's five losses in the 40-game stretch have come to Arizona, Duke (3) and Oklahoma - all on the road.
* Maryland's 13-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.
* The Terps' 12-game tear to end the ACC regular season 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 104-30 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).
* 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.
ON DECK
* Maryland hopes to advance to the ACC Tournament Championship Game, to be held on Sunday, March 10 at 1 p.m. (ESPN/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.
CONSISTENCY & EXCELLENCE
* Maryland is the only school in the nation that has achieved each of the following:
- Appeared in each of the last eight NCAA Tournaments (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 over each of the past three seasons (Duke, Maryland, Michigan State, Stanford, Cincinnati, Gonzaga).
