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University of Maryland Athletics

First-Place Terps Close Out ACC First Half Slate With Visit From Virginia

Men's Basketball Maryland Athletics

First-Place Terps Close Out ACC First Half Slate With Visit From Virginia

Feb. 5, 2003

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland basketball squad (No. 8 AP, No. 8 USA Today/ESPN) looks for its fifth-straight conference victory, and sixth consecutive win overall, as the Virginia Cavaliers visit Comcast Center on Thursday, Feb. 6. The Terrapins look to close out the first half of their ACC schedule with a 7-1 record in a matchup that airs nationally on ESPN2 at 9 p.m.

  • The Terrapins (14-4, 6-1 ACC), who occupy first place in the ACC standings, enter the game after defeating local squad Loyola, 85-58, for their fifth straight victory. Senior Ryan Randle led the Terps for the fourth time this season, finishing the game with 17 points. He was followed closely by senior Drew Nicholas, who scored 15, while backcourt partner Steve Blake dished 10 assists, scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds. Both senior guards are now within range of the 1,000-point milestone, as Blake needs only 11 points and Nicholas 13. Junior transfer Jamar Smith came off the bench to contribute 10 points and five boards as the Terps won the 10th game out of their last 11.
  • Maryland is ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll and No. 8 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll (both released Feb. 3), earning its highest AP ranking and matching its highest coaches poll appearance of the season. The No. 8 AP ranking is Maryland's highest since the final poll of 2002, released March 11 prior to the NCAA Tournament. The Terrapins' previous high ranking of the year in the AP Poll was No. 9 on Dec. 2, and their first No. 8 rankling in the coaches poll came that week as well.
  • The Cavaliers (12-7, 3-4 ACC) have fallen in four of their last six games, including an 80-60 loss at Georgia Tech in their last outing on Saturday. Senior Travis Watson leads the conference in rebounding at 10.4 boards per game, and double-doubles with nine on the season. He shares the Virginia scoring lead with redshirt junior guard Todd Billet at 14.3 points per game. Billet had 19 points to go along with four assists for Virginia against the Yellow Jackets.
  • The Terrapins and Cavaliers meet for the 157th time in a series that Maryland leads 95-61. The Terrapins have won eight of the last 10 meetings, and nine in a row in College Park. Maryland has won the last five home meetings by an average of 18.0 points.

    Terp Streaks & Storylines

  • Maryland head coach Gary Williams owns 495 career victories, and is now just five wins from 500. He is the 20th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. Williams owns a 120-91 record against ACC opponents, good enough for sixth all-time. He is three conference wins away from passing former Maryland head coach Lefty Driesell, who amassed 122 victories in 17 seasons in College Park. Williams has led the Terps to a perfect 4-0 ACC record in the Terps' state-of-the-art, $125-million Comcast Center.
  • After defeating NC State on Jan. 30, 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.
  • The Terrapins head into Thursday's game riding a five-game win streak, and an eight-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 an 11-1 record at Comcast Center.
  • Senior point guard Steve Blake is 11 points shy of becoming Maryland's 38th 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 13 points for a career total of 1,000. He paces the Terps and is fifth in the ACC with a 17.7 scoring average, and averages 18.9 ppg in league games.
  • Blake enters Saturday's game with 876 career assists, poised to crack the NCAA Top 15 with two more helpers. Blake is currently 16th on the NCAA all-time career assist chart and fourth in the ACC, but will pass Delaware's Taurence Chishold, who finished his career with 877 in 1988.
  • Blake is 124 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 7.01 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 6.76 assist per game average this season is currently second in the conference.
  • The Terrapins have outshot 17 of their first 18 opponents from the field, have held seven opponents to less than 33 percent shooting, and 10 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 .361 according to most recent ACC and NCAA rankings.
  • The Terps have been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 67 consecutive weeks, and the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 for 60 straight votes. Maryland has been in the Top 10 for 21 of the past 31 votes by the Associated Press, and in 24 of 33 by USA Today/ESPN.

    On Deck

  • The Virginia game is the third contest in a three-game homestand. 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.
  • The Terps' continue conference play away from home with a road matchup at Florida State on Wednesday, Feb. 12. The game will be televised regionally on the Raycom/Jefferson Pilot Network at 9 p.m.

    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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