University of Maryland Athletics

First-Place Terps To Renew Nation's Best Rivalry At Cameron

Men's Basketball Maryland Athletics

First-Place Terps To Renew Nation's Best Rivalry At Cameron

Feb. 18, 2003

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland basketball team (No. 13 AP, No. 13 USA Today/ESPN) squares off against No. 8/8 Duke attempting to snap the Blue Devils' 25-game win streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium and achieve victory in Durham for the third time in four seasons. The conference-leading Terps renew college basketball's fiercest rivalry with Duke in a game that airs nationally on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 9 p.m. on ESPN.

  • The Terrapins (16-6, 8-3 ACC) bring their league-best 3-2 conference road record into Cameron after once again claiming the top spot in the ACC standings. Maryland earned a half-game lead over Wake Forest with a 90-67 victory, having overcome snowy conditions and the Demon Deacons to win the battle of the boards (44-24) and the league driver's seat. ACC Co-Player of the Week Steve Blake started his Terrapin-record 127th game, and went on to score 21 points and dish nine assists to crack the NCAA's all-time Top 10. Backcourt partner Drew Nicholas added 19 points and senior center Ryan Randle posted his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds. The Terrapins held Wake to 35.1 percent shooting and out-boarded the nation's top rebounding team before a crowd of 14,222 that braved the elements.
  • The Blue Devils (17-4, 7-4 ACC) come into the game after handing Virginia a 78-59 loss in Charlottesville on Saturday. Duke is led by senior forward Dahntay Jones in scoring (16.6 ppg), and he also is tied for the team lead in rebounding (5.5 rpg) after posting 17 points and 8 boards at Virginia. Senior point guard Chris Duhon leads the league with a 7.1 assist per game average. The Blue Devils have won 25 consecutive games on their home floor, last losing in Cameron to Maryland, 91-80, on Feb. 27, 2001.
  • The Terrapins attempt to capture their third-straight victory over Duke, having posted an 87-72 victory at Comcast Center on Jan. 18 of this season and an 87-73 win over the Devils at Cole Field House on Feb. 17, 2002. The Terps are looking for their first season sweep of the Blue Devils since 1994-95.

    Terp Streaks & Storylines

  • Maryland head coach Gary Williams is just three wins from 500 career victories, with a career record of 497-277. He is the 20th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. Williams owns a 122-93 record against ACC opponents, good enough to tie for fifth all-time. He is tied with former Maryland head coach Lefty Driesell, who amassed 122 ACC victories in 17 seasons at UM. Williams has led the Terps to a 3-2 ACC road record this season, which stands as the best away slate in the league, and make's Maryland the conference's only winning road team.
  • Senior Wooden Award candidate Steve Blake set a new Maryland record by making his 127th career start on Monday vs. Wake Forest. Blake passed former Terp Keith Booth, who started 126 games from 1994-1997.
  • Blake totals 1,047 points and 902 assists and would be Maryland's only 1,000- point/1,000-assist man in history should he reach both milestones. By reaching the 1,000-point mark, he became the only player in ACC history to boast at least 1,000 points, 800 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals.
  • Blake enters Wednesday's game with 902 career assists, having dished nine on Monday to go along with 21 points. He is now currently tied with San Francisco's Orlando Smart (1991-94) for 10th on the NCAA's all-time career assists chart, and next has his sights set on current Seattle Supersonic and former Oregon State standout Gary Payton, who finished his college career with 939 in 1990.
  • Blake is 98 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 902, and averages 7.0 per game for his career.
  • 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 6.86 assist per game average this season is currently second in the conference.
  • Senior shooting guard Drew Nicholas paces the Terps and is third in the ACC with an 18.0 scoring average after averaging 6.3 points as a reserve for three seasons. Nicholas averages 19.0 ppg in ACC games - good enough for second in the conference - and totals 1,064 points for his career.
  • Maryland has won 27 of its last 31 ACC regular season games, including a school-record 14-game streak which concluded at Wake Forest on Jan. 15.
  • The Terrapins have outshot 18 of their first 22 opponents from the field, have held seven opponents to less than 33 percent shooting, and 10 under 35 percent. As a team, Maryland is first in the Atlantic Coast Conference in field goal percentage defense and third in the nation at .376, according to most recent rankings.
  • Maryland is ranked No. 13 in the AP Poll and USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll (both released Feb. 17), having moved from No. 16/15 last week.
  • The Terps have been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 69 consecutive weeks, and the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 for 62-straight votes. Maryland has been in the Top 10 in 21 of the past 33 votes by the Associated Press, and in 24 of 35 by the coaches.

    On Deck

  • The Terps finish a monster week, in which they will have faced three straight Tobacco Road opponents, on Saturday, Feb. 22 when North Carolina makes its first-ever trip to Comcast Center. The game is scheduled to tip at 2 p.m. on the Raycom/Jefferson Pilot Network.
  • The first-ever "Senior Day" to be celebrated at Comcast Center is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 25, when the Clemson Tigers visit College Park. Terp seniors and their families will be honored before the game, which will tip at 7 p.m. on RSN.

    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).
    • Print Friendly Version