University of Maryland Athletics

Second-Seeded Terrapins Face Tar Heels In ACC Quarterfinal

Men's Basketball Maryland Athletics

Second-Seeded Terrapins Face Tar Heels In ACC Quarterfinal

March 12, 2003

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland basketball team (No. 14 AP, No. 15 USA Today/ESPN) earned a No. 2 seed for the 50th Annual Atlantic Coast Conference and will take on seventh-seeded North Carolina in the quarterfinal round on Friday, March 14 at 7 p.m. All of the weekend's games will be played at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C., and the entire quarterfinal round airs nationally on ESPN2, 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 (19-8, 11-5 ACC) look to begin the postseason on the right foot and rebound from an 80-78 overtime loss to Virginia in the regular season finale on Sunday. Maryland was down by as many as seven points in the second half before first team All-ACC selection Steve Blake fed center Ryan Randle for the game-tying dunk with 30 seconds to play in regulation, but the Cavaliers were able to hold on in the extra-session for the victory. The league's third-leading scorer and an All-ACC second team selection, Drew Nicholas netted a game-high 27 points, while third-teamer Randle finished with 13 points and six boards.
  • The North Carolina Tar Heels (16-14, 6-10 ACC) enter the tournament following an 89-72 victory over the Duke Blue Devils in Chapel Hill on Sunday. ACC all-freshman team member Rashad McCants, who leads the Tar Heels in scoring with 16.9 points per game, registered 26 points in the victory over Duke to improve the Tar Heels' position in the league standings. Sophomore Jawad Williams contributes 14.5 ppg and paces the squad with a 5.8 rebounding average, while Raymond Felton averages 12.5 ppg and is third in the conference at 6.23 assists per game.
  • The Terrapins are 3-11 all-time against North Carolina in ACC Tournament history, but have won five out of the last seven overall meetings and on Friday attempt to capture their fifth-straight victory over the Tar Heels - a feat that no Maryland team has accomplished since a string of five consecutive wins between 1930 and 1932. The Terrapins took both regular season matchups in 2003, defeating the Tar Heels 81-66 in Chapel Hill (Jan. 22) before posting a record-setting 40-point win in College Park (96-56, Feb. 22). Nicholas combined for 37 points across both meetings (18.5 ppg), Blake averaged 17.6 points and 6.5 assists per matchup, and Randle totaled 32 points and 17 boards in the victories.

    Terp Streaks & Storylines

  • Maryland holds the longest active streak of quarterfinal victories in the ACC Tournament, having advanced to the tournament semifinals in eight straight seasons from 1995-2002. It is the second longest streak in history, following Duke's run of 12-straight semifinal appearances from 1958-69.
  • The Terrapins earned a sixth-consecutive Top 3 finish in the ACC in 2003, having posted an 11-5 conference record in the league to tie for second place. The Terrapins have finished second or better in the league in four of the past five years.
  • Maryland totals double-figure ACC victories for a school-record six consecutive seasons, and averages 11.7 conference wins per year across that stretch.
  • Maryland head coach Gary Williams reached his 500th career victory at NC State on March 2, two days before celebrating his 58th birthday. His record stands at 500-279, which makes him the 20th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. Williams' 125-95 record against ACC opponents is fifth all-time.
  • Senior Wooden Award finalist Steve Blake totals 1,099 points and 943 assists and would be Maryland's only 1,000- point/1,000-assist man ever 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 Friday's game with 943 career assists, having dished 10 vs. Virginia. He is currently ninth on the NCAA's all-time career assists chart, passing Milwaukee Buck and former Oregon State standout Gary Payton, who finished his college career with 939 in 1990. He is only 17 assists from the all-time Top 5.
  • Blake is 57 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 943, and averages 7.04 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 7.11 assist per game average this season also leads the conference.
  • Senior shooting guard Drew Nicholas paces the Terps and is third in the ACC with a 17.7 scoring average after averaging 6.3 points as a reserve for three seasons. Nicholas averages 18.2 ppg in ACC games - good enough for third in the conference - and totals 1,146 points for his career.
  • The Terrapins have outshot 21 of their first 27 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 second in the nation at .374, according to the most recent rankings.
  • Maryland is ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll and No. 15 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll (both released March 10), having moved from No. 13/12 last week.
  • The Terps have been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 72 consecutive weeks, and the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 for 65-straight votes. Maryland has been in the Top 10 in 21 of the past 36 votes by the Associated Press, and in 24 of 38 by the coaches.

    On Deck

  • NCAA Tournament selections are announced during the NCAA Selection Show on CBS-TV on Sunday, March 15, at 6:00 p.m. ET.

    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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