University of Maryland Athletics

Terps Seek Fifth Straight Win In Final Non-Conference Game

Men's Basketball Maryland Athletics

Terps Seek Fifth Straight Win In Final Non-Conference Game

Feb. 1, 2003

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland basketball team (No. 10 AP, No. 9 USA Today/ESPN) takes on Loyola in what is the Terps' final non-league matchup of the regular season. The Terrapins look for their fifth-straight win in a contest that will air regionally on the Raycom/Jefferson Pilot network, and locally on WDCA (UPN 20 in Washington, D.C.) and WNUV (WB-54 in the Baltimore area).

  • The Terrapins (13-4, 6-1 ACC) come into the contest having won four games in a row and nine of their last ten. The Terps, who currently occupy first place in the ACC standings, dispatched the second-place Wolfpack 75-60 at Comcast Center on Thursday. Senior Steve Blake netted a team-high 20 points and dealt seven assists as he makes his way toward the 1,000-point plateau. Backcourt partner Drew Nicholas scored all 13 of his points in the second half to help the Terps to a 14-0 run that sealed the victory. Forward Tahj Holden led the Terps' frontcourt effort with 13 points that included an 8-of-11 performance from the free throw line.
  • The Greyhounds (4-14, 1-9 MAAC) enter the game having dropped seven of their last eight decisions, including a 73-54 loss to St. Peter's on Wednesday. Loyola is led by sophomore guard Lucious Jordan, who averages 14.3 points per game. Fellow second-year player Bernard Allen adds 9.6 ppg and 8.2 rebounds for the Greyhounds.
  • The Terrapins and Greyhounds square off for the first time since 1994 on Sunday, in a series which dates to 1914. Loyola won the first five games of the series, all between 1914 and 1948. The Terps have won every meeting since to take a 7-5 series advantage, and captured the last victory, 92-62, on Nov. 29, 1994 at Cole Field House.

    Terp Streaks & Storylines

  • Maryland head coach Gary Williams owns 494 career victories, and is now just six wins from 500. He is the 20th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. Williams owns a 96-2 (.980) record against non-conference opponents in College Park, including a 6-1 record vs. non-league foes at Comcast Center.
  • The Terrapins head into Sunday's game riding a four-game win streak, and a seven-game win streak at home. The Terps have not lost at home since Dec. 14, 2002, when Florida earned a 69-64 victory. Maryland owns a 9-1 record at the state-of-the-art, $125-million Comcast Center.
  • Maryland is ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll and No. 9 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, released Jan. 27, returning to the top 10 for the first time in eight weeks. The Terrapins were No. 12/11 in the previous polls from Jan. 13.
  • The Terps have been ranked in the AP top 25 for 66 consecutive weeks, and the USA Today/ESPN top 25 for 59 straight votes. Maryland has been in the top 10 for 20 of the past 30 votes by the Associated Press, and in 23 of 32 by USA Today/ESPN.
  • Senior point guard Steve Blake enters Saturday's game with 866 career assists, placing him 16th on the NCAA all-time career assist chart and fourth in the ACC.
  • Blake is 134 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 866, and averages 6.98 per game for his career.
  • Blake is 19 points shy of becoming Maryland's 40th 1,000-point career scorer. He would be Maryland's only 1,000 point/1,000 assist man in history should he reach both marks. His backcourt partner, Drew Nicholas, needs only 28 points for a career total of 1,000. He paces the Terps and is fifth in the ACC with a 17.8 scoring average, and averages 18.9 ppg in league games.
  • Blake led the ACC in assists as a sophomore (6.9) and junior (7.9), and ranked second in the country last season while keying Maryland to the NCAA title. His 6.76 assist per game average this season is currently second in the conference.
  • The Terrapins have outshot 15 of their first 16 opponents from the field, have held seven opponents to less than 33 percent shooting, and nine under 35 percent. As a team, Maryland is second in the nation and first in the the Atlantic Coast Conference in field goal percentage defense at .362 according to most recent ACC and NCAA rankings.
  • Maryland began a new non-conference homecourt win streak with a 101-60 victory over UMBC (Dec. 23), and has extended it to three games with wins over Wagner (Jan. 4) and Hampton (Jan. 8). The Terps owned the nation's longest streak of that kind, an 87 game stretch, which began on Dec. 30, 1989 against Alcorn State and ended against Florida on Dec. 14, 2002.
  • After defeating NC State on Thursday, the Terrapins are currently riding a 14-game ACC regular season win streak at home. Maryland has not fallen to an ACC team in College Park since Feb. 14, 2001, when it fell to Florida State, 74-71. The Terps rebounded to win 10 of their next 11 games and reach the first Final Four in school history to finish that season.
  • Maryland has won 25 of its last 27 ACC league games, including a school-record 14-game streak which was ended at Wake Forest on Jan. 15.

    On Deck

  • The Loyola game is the second contest in a three-game homestand. After the non-conference matchup with the Greyhounds, the Terrapins return to ACC action when Virginia makes its inaugural visit to Comcast Center on Feb. 6. The Terps and Cavaliers square off at 9 p.m. on Thursday on ESPN2.
  • The Terps then hit the road to Atlanta to begin the second half of the conference schedule. Maryland faces Georgia Tech on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. in a nationally-televised bout on CBS. It also is the day of the NBA All-Star game in Atlanta.

    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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