University of Maryland Athletics

Terrapins Host Tigers On Senior Night At Comcast Center

Men's Basketball Maryland Athletics

Terrapins Host Tigers On Senior Night At Comcast Center

Feb. 24, 2003

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland basketball team (No. 14 AP, No. 14 USA Today/ESPN) honors its five seniors as the Terps play in their final home game of the season on Tuesday at Comcast Center. The Terrapins look for the season sweep of the Clemson Tigers in a game that airs regionally on FOX Sports Net, and in the Washington and Baltimore areas on Comcast SportsNet.

  • The Terrapins (17-7, 9-4 ACC) enter the game after handing North Carolina its worst loss in the 79-year history of the series - 96-56 on Saturday at Comcast Center. The Terps, who have won three of their past four games and are currently tied for second in the ACC standings, were led by senior Steve Blake's 18 points and eight assists in completing their first four-game sweep of the Tar Heels since 1932. Three other Terrapins scored in double-figures, including Drew Nicholas (17 points, seven assists), Ryan Randle (16 points, seven rebounds) and John Gilchrist, who scored a career-high 11 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds. All 13 Terrapins saw playing time, and 11 registered points as the Terps shot a staggering 58 percent - their second-best mark of the season.
  • The Tigers (15-8, 5-7 ACC) have won three consecutive games and are currently the seventh-place team in the ACC. Senior guard Edward Scott, who ranks second in the ACC in scoring and fifth in assists, leads the Tigers with 17.7 ppg and 5.64 apg. Scott had 29 points in Clemson's 74-60 victory over Florida State on Saturday, while sophomores Olu Babalola scored 15 and Chey Christie netted 12. The Tigers lead the ACC in field goal percentage at .463.
  • The Terrapins have captured the last 10 meetings with Clemson, lead the series 81-42 and are 47-9 all-time vs. the Tigers in College Park. Maryland came back from a 21-9 first-half deficit and gritted out a 52-47 victory at Littlejohn Coliseum on Jan. 27. Nicholas was the Terps' only double-figure scorer with 14 points, Tahj Holden collected a career-high 11 rebounds and Blake hit two clutch free throws in the final minute to seal the victory. Maryland held the Tigers to .318 shooting on the day and won for the ninth straight time.

    Terp Streaks & Storylines

  • The Terrapins will honor Maryland's seniors and their families in a ceremony prior to tip-off. The Terps thank Steve Blake, Tahj Holden, Calvin McCall, Drew Nicholas and Ryan Randle for their years of dedication to Maryland Basketball. The Class of 2003 is looking for its 100th victory on Tuesday, as its record currently stands at 99-32.
  • Maryland head coach Gary Williams is just two wins from 500 career victories, with a career record of 498-278. He is the 20th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. Williams owns a 123-94 record against ACC opponents, which stands as fifth all-time. Against North Carolina he passed former Maryland head coach Lefty Driesell, who amassed 122 ACC victories in 17 seasons at UM. Williams has led the Terps to a 13-2 overall record at Comcast Center and a 6-1 ACC home record this season.
  • Senior Wooden Award candidate Steve Blake totals 1,077 points and 919 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 Tuesday's game with 919 career assists, having dished eight on Saturday to go along with 18 points. He is currently 10th on the NCAA's all-time career assists chart, and next has his sights set on new Milwaukee Buck and former Oregon State standout Gary Payton, who finished his college career with 939 in 1990.
  • Blake is 81 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 919, and averages 7.02 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 7.0 assists per game average this season also leads the conference.
  • Senior shooting guard Drew Nicholas paces the Terps and is fourth in the ACC with a 17.5 scoring average after averaging 6.3 points as a reserve for three seasons. Nicholas averages 18.0 ppg in ACC games - good enough for second in the conference - and totals 1,089 points for his career.
  • Maryland has won 28 of its last 33 ACC regular season games, including a school-record 14-game streak which concluded at Wake Forest on Jan. 15.
  • The Terrapins have outshot 19 of their first 24 opponents from the field, have held eight opponents to less than 33 percent shooting, and 11 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 .375, according to the most recent rankings.
  • Maryland is ranked No. 14 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 70 consecutive weeks, and the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 for 63-straight votes. Maryland has been in the Top 10 in 22 of the past 34 votes by the Associated Press, and in 24 of 35 by the coaches.

    On Deck

  • Maryland plays the final two games of the season on the road, both of which will air nationally on FOX Sports Net. The Terps meet NC State in Raleigh on Sunday, March 2 at 8 p.m. Maryland then heads to Charlottesville, Va., to take on the Cavaliers one week later, also at 8 p.m.
  • Maryland participates in the 50th Annual ACC Tournament from March 13-16, in Greensboro, N.C., at the Greensboro Coliseum. The championship game will be played on Sunday, March 16, at 1 p.m. on Raycom/Jefferson Pilot and ESPN. All games of the tournament are televised.

    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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