University of Maryland Athletics

No. 21/17 Men's Basketball Squares Off With Hampton In Non-Conference Matchup

Men's Basketball Maryland Athletics

No. 21/17 Men's Basketball Squares Off With Hampton In Non-Conference Matchup

Jan. 6, 2003

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland basketball squad (No. 21 AP, No. 17 USA Today/ESPN) plays a final non-league matchup before a string of six straight ACC games when the Hampton Pirates of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) come to Comcast Center. The Terps face the Pirates on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in a game that airs regionally on the Raycom/Jefferson Pilot network, locally on WDCA (UPN-20 in Washington, D.C.) and WNUV (WB-54 in the Baltimore area).

  • The Terrapins (7-3, 1-0 ACC) face Hampton following a 22-point victory over the Wagner Seahawks, 79-57, on Saturday at Comcast Center. Senior Ryan Randle keyed the Terrapins and tied a Maryland single-game record by making 10-of-10 field goals and finishing with a career-high tying 21 points. Senior Steve Blake dealt 12 assists to move into the NCAA all-time top 20 with 826 total, and Drew Nicholas scored in double-figures for the 10th straight game with 13 points. Senior forward Tahj Holden, coming off the bench for his second straight contest, netted 11 points for the second game in a row, and rookie Travis Garrison scored seven and pulled down nine rebounds in his third start.
  • Hampton (6-3, 2-0 MEAC) opened the season with four straight wins, and then snapped a three-game losing streak with a pair of league victories. Most recently the Pirates downed Howard, 80-75, on Monday. First-year head coach Bobby Collins and the Pirates have been competitive in every game, falling by an average of only six points in their three losses. The Pirates, who have made two straight NCAA tournament appearances, are led by senior Mackel Purvis, who averages 13.6 points per game. Sophomore Devin Green and senior Barry Hairston follow closely with 13.0 and 12.7 scoring averages, respectively.
  • The Terrapins have never faced the Hampton Pirates, although the two squads did come close to a meeting in the 2001 NCAA Tournament - the year of Maryland's first-ever Final Four run. The two squads were sent to Boise, Idaho, for the West Region First and Second Rounds, where the Terps defeated George Mason, 83-80, and Georgia State, 79-60, on their way to the West Regional in Anaheim, Calif. Hampton upset Iowa State, 58-57 in the first round, before falling to Georgetown, 76-57 in the second round. That result led to a Sweet 16 matchup between the Terps and Hoyas.

    Terp Streaks & Storylines

  • Maryland is ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll and No. 17 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, released Jan. 6. The Terrapins were No. 22/20 in the previous AP and USA Today/ESPN Polls from Dec. 30. The Terps have been ranked in the AP top 25 for 63 consecutive weeks, and the USA Today/ESPN top 25 for 56 straight votes.
  • Senior point guard Steve Blake enters Wednesday's game with 826 career assists, placing him 20th on the NCAA all-time career assist chart. Maryland's all-time assist leader dished 12 helpers against Wagner on Jan. 4, posting his 20th career game of double-figure assists.
  • Blake is 174 assists away from becoming the fourth Division I player in history to reach 1,000 assists. The only others are all former ACC players - Bobby Hurley (1,076), Chris Corchiani (1,038) and Ed Cota (1,030). Blake is the nation's active leader in career assists with 826, and averages 7.06 per game for his career.
  • Blake led the ACC in assists as a sophomore (6.9) and a junior (7.9), and ranked second in the country last season while guiding Maryland to the NCAA title. His 7.5 assist per game average is currently second in the conference this season.
  • Freshman Travis Garrison joined fellow newcomer Nik Caner-Medley in the starting lineup for the third straight game vs. Wagner (Jan. 4), marking the first time that two Terp freshmen have started three consecutive games since 1996. Should Garrison appear in the starting lineup for his fourth straight game against Hampton (with Caner-Medley), it would mark the first time that a pair of freshmen have started as many games since Joe Smith and Keith Booth each started all 30 games of the 1993-94 season.
  • An early trend in the 2002-03 season, the Terrapins have outshot eight of their first ten opponents from the field (.459 vs. .360), and have held five opponents to less than 33% shooting. As a team, Maryland is second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in field goal percentage defense and ranks in the top 10 nationally (sixth as of Dec. 16).
  • Now in the fifth game of a six-game homestand, the Terps are on a new three-game home win streak after posting 21 straight victories in College Park. Before their loss to Florida (Dec. 14) the Terps had run off a stretch that dated to a loss on Feb. 14, 2001 - 74-71 to Florida State. The 21 victories at home had spanned three seasons - 2000-01 (3), 2001-02 (15), 2002-03 (3). Maryland's longest home win streak of all-time is 24 games set between the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons.
  • Maryland began its 80th consecutive basketball season against Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 24, and the Terps own a 6-1 record in the $125 million, 17,950-seat Comcast Center. Comcast is historically the fourth home of Terrapin basketball, following: The Gymnasium (1923-24 to 1930-31); Ritchie Coliseum (1931-32 to 1954-55); and Cole Field House (1955-56 to 2001-02).

    On Deck

  • ACC play continues at home when the Florida State Seminoles make their first trip to Comcast Center on Saturday, Jan. 11. The 1:30 p.m. contest between the Terps and Seminoles will also air on the Raycom/Jefferson Pilot Network.
  • Maryland's first ACC away game, and the first contest on the road since the Terps' BB&T victory over George Washington on Dec. 8, will be on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at Wake Forest. The Terps tangle with the still-undefeated Demon Deacons at 9 p.m. in a game that will be televised on the Raycom/Jefferson Pilot network.
  • The best rivalry in college basketball will be renewed for the 151st meeting when No. 1/1 Duke makes its first trip to Comcast Center on Saturday, Jan. 18. The Blue Devils come to College Park for a 1:30 p.m. nationally-televised ACC matchup on ABC.
  • Following the meeting with the Blue Devils, the Terps face their next two ACC opponents on the road - North Carolina on Jan. 22, and Clemson on Jan. 25.

    Consistency & Excellence

  • Maryland made a repeat appearance at the NCAA Final Four last season and is the ONLY school in the nation that has advanced to the Elite Eight in each of the past two seasons.
  • The Terps also are the ONLY school to have achieved ALL of the following: - Appeared in each of the last nine NCAA Tournaments from 1994 to 2002 (Arizona, Cincinnati, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and UCLA).
    - Advanced to the Sweet Sixteen at least six times since 1994 (Arizona, Connecticut, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland).
    - Won at least 25 games over each of the past four seasons from 1999 to 2002 (Duke, Maryland, Cincinnati, Gonzaga).
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