University of Maryland Athletics

Terrapins Hit The Road To Take On Wolfpack In Raleigh

Men's Basketball Maryland Athletics

Terrapins Hit The Road To Take On Wolfpack In Raleigh

Feb. 28, 2003

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland basketball team (No. 14 AP, No. 14 USA Today/ESPN) looks to earn the 500th career victory for head coach Gary Williams and post its fourth ACC road win as the Terrapins travel to Raleigh to take on NC State. The Terrapins, currently tied for second place in the conference standings at only one-half game behind Wake Forest, look for the season-sweep of the Wolfpack on Sunday, March 2, at 8 p.m. The game will be nationally televised by FOX Sports Net, airing in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area on Comcast SportsNet.

  • The Terrapins (18-7, 10-4 ACC) enter the game after scorching Clemson with a season-best 63 percent shooting performance en route to a 91-52 victory last Tuesday on Senior Night in College Park. Senior Ryan Randle led four double-figure Terrapins with 18 points, including an 8-for-8 performance at the free throw line, and also grabbed a team-high tying six rebounds. ACC assists leader Steve Blake netted 14 and dished seven helpers, while backcourt partner Drew Nicholas scored 13 and dealt five assists. Junior Jamar Smith made 6-of-7 field goals, finished with 13 points and collected four boards. The 39-point rout of the Tigers (Feb. 25) followed a 40-point win over North Carolina (Feb. 22) to combine for Maryland's most lopsided consecutive ACC wins in history.
  • Currently the fourth-place team in the ACC, NC State (15-9, 8-5 ACC) enters the Sunday match-up coming off a 75-67 overtime victory at North Carolina. Sophomore Julius Hodge, who ranks second in the conference in scoring at 18.3 ppg, hit a jumper to send the contest into the extra session. The Wolfpack made 10 consecutive free throws in overtime as part of a 22-of-22 performance from the stripe. Junior guard Scooter Sherrill led the Pack with 22 points against the Tar Heels.
  • The Terrapins have taken the last six regular-season meetings with the Wolfpack, including a 75-60 victory over NC State at Comcast Center on Jan. 30. Maryland has won eight of the last nine matchups in Raleigh, and 22 of the last 26 games against the Wolfpack overall. In College Park earlier this season, Blake led the Terps with 20 points and seven assists and Nicholas scored all 13 of his points in the second half as Maryland turned a one-point halftime deficit into a 15-point victory.

    Terp Streaks & Storylines

  • Maryland head coach Gary Williams needs just one win for 500 career victories, as his record stands at 499-278. Williams, who coached at American University (1978-82), Boston College (1982-86) and Ohio State (1986-89) before returning to his alma mater, is the 20th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. He owns a 124-94 record at Maryland against ACC opponents, which stands as fifth all-time, and a 3-3 league record on the road this season.
  • Senior Wooden Award candidate Steve Blake totals 1,091 points and 926 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 Saturday's game with 926 career assists, having dished seven on Tuesday to go along with 14 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 74 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 926, 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 assist 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 17.3 scoring average after averaging 6.3 points as a reserve for three seasons. Nicholas averages 17.6 ppg in ACC games - good enough for fourth in the conference - and totals 1,102 points for his career.
  • Maryland has won 29 of its last 34 ACC regular season games, including a school-record 14-game streak which concluded at Wake Forest on Jan. 15.
  • The Terrapins have outshot 20 of their first 25 opponents from the field, have held nine opponents to less than 33 percent shooting, and 12 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 .372, according to the most recent rankings. Clemson, which entered Tuesday's game tied with Maryland for the league lead in field goal percentage, was held to 20-of-63 (.317) field goals.
  • Maryland is ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll and USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll (both released Feb. 24), having moved from No. 13/13 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 21 of the past 34 votes by the Associated Press, and in 24 of 36 by the coaches.

    On Deck

  • Maryland plays the final game of the regular season on the road, which will air nationally on FOX Sports Net. The Terps heads to Charlottesville, Va., to take on the Cavaliers after a week-long hiatus, on March 9 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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