Nov. 26, 2003
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland basketball squad (No. 24 USA Today/ESPN, receiving votes AP) looks to keep its winning ways intact as non-conference foe Hofstra visits Comcast Center on Saturday, Nov. 29. The Pride, who have not faced the Terrapins since 1998, come to College Park for an 8 p.m. matchup. For the second-consecutive season, each of the Terps' 27 regular-season games are scheduled to be televised live - Maryland will meet Hofstra in a regional telecast on the Raycom/Jefferson Pilot; UPN-20 (WDCA) in Washington, D.C., and WB-54 (WNUV) in the Baltimore area.
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 Terrapins turned up the intensity before the Thanksgiving holiday, outlasting and outworking gritty George Mason, 79-64, on Tuesday. Maryland cranked up the defensive pressure in the second half to cool down a hot-shooting GMU squad and turned Mason turnovers into points on the scoreboard to finish the Patriots. Senior Jamar Smith turned in his second double-double in as many games with a career-high 19 points and 13 rebounds, while sophomore swingman Nik Caner-Medley got it done on both ends of the floor and led all scorers with a career-high 23 points. The guard play of sophomore John Gilchrist and rookie D.J. Strawberry keyed a 9-0 second-half run that gave Maryland the momentum it needed to put the Patriots away.
Hofstra (1-2) comes to College Park after dropping two straight games. The Pride fell in a pair of road games - 69-56 at Providence on Nov. 22, and 75-56 at Georgia Tech on Nov. 20. Hofstra has not played a home game to date, posting their lone victory of the season at Marist, 79-74, on Nov. 18.
The Pride are led by junior forward Wendel Gibson, who averages 14.3 points per game across Hofstra's first three contests, while fellow junior Kenny Adelke paces the team with 8.3 rebounds per game. Third-year head coach Tom Pecora, also in his third season overall, owns a 21-43 career record.
The Terps are a perfect 3-0 in the series which dates to 1982. The last meeting between the two teams was in 1998, when the Terps downed Hofstra 89-59 on Nov. 20 in Cole Field House. Then-senior Obinna Ekezie matched a then-career high with a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double effort. Sophomore Terence Morris contributed 22 points and eight boards, while junior Steve Francis netted 10 and dealt five assists.
Terp Streaks & Storylines
Maryland is ranked No. 24 in the USA Today/ESPN Preseason 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 504-280, which makes him the 17th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. Williams 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.
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 second receiving-vote getter in the AP Poll, released Nov. 24. Including finishing the 2002-03 season ranked No. 17, the Terrapins had been ranked in 77 straight AP Polls.
On Deck
The Terps next take on No. 15/15 Wisconsin for the third time in four seasons - this time to kick off a tough non-conference stretch 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.
Following the meeting with the Badgers, the Terps face No. 16/21 Gonzaga in the opening round of the ninth-annual BB&T Classic on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 3:30 p.m.
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).
