Nov. 25, 2003
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland basketball squad (No. 24 USA Today/ESPN, receiving votes AP) continues early non-conference action at Comcast Center as local team George Mason makes a trip around the Beltway to take on the Terps. The Patriots, who have fallen to the Terrapins in three-point decisions in each of the last two meetings, make their first visit to Maryland's new arena on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. For the second-consecutive season, each of the Terps' 27 regular-season games are scheduled to be televised live - Maryland will meet GMU in a regional telecast on Comcast SportsNet, and the game will also air on FOX Sports Net South.
The Terrapins bring a new-look squad to the floor for 2003-04, as Maryland's roster features a combined nine freshmen and sophomores, three juniors and lone senior Jamar Smith. Head coach Gary Williams, now in his 15th season at Maryland and his 26th season overall, returned to his alma mater in 1989 and has since guided the Terrapins to 10 straight NCAA Tournament berths - a run that includes seven Sweet Sixteen appearances, Final Four showings in 2001 and 2002, and the 2002 NCAA Championship.
The 2003-04 Maryland squad appears to be the youngest Williams has coached since the 1993-94 season. That year, with a five-man freshman class that included Keith Booth, Joe Smith and current Terp assistant coach Matt Kovarik, the Terps posted an 18-12 record en route to the Terps' first Sweet Sixteen appearance of the Williams era. The 1994 NCAA Tournament appearance was the first of Maryland's current streak of 10 straight.
The Terps look to continue the momentum and evenly balanced attack from their season-opening 79-48 victory over American University on Saturday. The Terrapins raced out to a 29-2 lead to open the contest against the Eagles, and Maryland's defense held American to only eight points at the halftime break - marking the lowest halftime output by a Maryland opponent since the Terps led 4-3 over No. 2 South Carolina in the famous "slow down" game of 1971. Smith posted his first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, guards Chris McCray and Mike Jones registered 10 points apiece, and forwards Nik Caner-Medley and Travis Garrison each contributed nine points and eight rebounds as a part of Maryland's winning effort.
George Mason heads into the game with a 1-0 record after winning its season opener, 95-82, over Morehead State last Friday. Seniors Mark Davis and Raoul Heinen netted 22 and 20 points, respectively, while junior point guard Terry Reynolds had 13 points and 14 assists. Head Coach Jim Larranaga owns a 299-243 career record in 19 seasons, and is in his 10th year at GMU.
The Terps are a perfect 5-0 in the series vs. the Patriots, including an 83-80 victory over GMU in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament. Steve Blake hit a 3-pointer near the one-minute mark and forced a Patriot turnover with seven seconds to play as the Terrapins were victorious in Boise, en route to Maryland's first ever Final Four appearance. The only other meeting between the two schools since 1989 was a 69-66 Terp victory on Dec. 27, 1999, in Cole Field House.
Terp Streaks & Storylines
Maryland is ranked No. 24 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll (released Nov. 24), having now appeared in the last 69-consecutive votes of the head coaches. The Terrapins, who finished the 2002-03 season at No. 10, have been ranked in the Coaches Poll's Top 10 in 25 of the last 32 votes.
Maryland head coach Gary Williams reached his 500th career victory at NC State on March 2, 2003. His record stands at 503-280, which makes him the 17th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. Williams now totals 25 NCAA tournament victories - ranking ninth among active coaches - and is 21-9 at Maryland for a .700 winning percentage after once again leading the Terps to the Sweet Sixteen last season.
Williams was recently named the No. 3 college basketball coach in the nation by CBSSportsline.com's Gregg Doyel. Williams' active string of 10-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament ranks tied for fourth in the nation, and he was listed behind only Kentucky's Tubby Smith and Texas Tech's Bob Knight as the NCAA's top mentors on Sportsline's list.
The 2003-04 Terrapins look to continue a school record this season by earning a berth in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Maryland is currently one of only six schools in the nation riding a streak of 10-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Maryland has won 30 of 36 (.833) ACC regular-season games over the last three seasons, including a second place 11-5 mark in 2002-03 and a 15-1 ACC regular-season championship in 2001-02.
The Terrapins will look to extend an active school-record streak of 20-win seasons to eight in 2003-04. The Terps have established a streak of seven 20-win seasons since 1997.
For the second consecutive season and the second time in school history, all of Maryland's 29 preseason and regular-season games are scheduled to be aired on live television. The Terps' 2003-04 broadcast slate includes 14 games that will be broadcast nationally, on ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports Net, ABC or CBS. With the exception of the snow-delayed victory over Wake Forest last February 17, every preseason and regular season game of the Terps' 2002-03 season was aired live, and the Terps' Feb. 19 tilt at Duke ranked as ESPN's top-rated college basketball telecast of all of last year.
Maryland is currently the top receiving-vote getter in the Preseason AP Poll, released Nov. 10. Including finishing the 2002-03 season ranked No. 17, the Terrapins had been ranked in 77 straight AP Polls.
On Deck
Maryland meets Hofstra for the first time since 1998 on Saturday, Nov. 29. The Terps and Pride clash at 8 p.m. in a game televised live by the Raycom/Jefferson Pilot Network (UPN-20 (WDCA) in Washington; WB-54 (WNUV) in Baltimore).
The Terps then take on Wisconsin for the third time in four seasons - this time as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, on Tuesday, Dec. 2. The game is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2, live from Comcast Center.
Consistency & Excellence
Head coach Gary Williams has established his alma mater's basketball program in a position among the nation's elite. Williams resurrected the Terrapins from NCAA sanctions inherited from the previous coaching regime, and reestablished the Terps as perennial contenders for the NCAA and ACC championships.
Further - Maryland, Arizona and Kentucky are the only schools in the nation that have achieved each of the following:
Won a national championship in the last 10 years.
Received berths in each of 10 NCAA Tournaments from 1994 to 2003 (Maryland, Arizona, Cincinnati, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky).
Made appearances in the Sweet Sixteen at least seven times since 1994 (Maryland, Arizona, Connecticut, Kansas, Duke, Kentucky).
