March 18, 2003
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland basketball team (No. 17 AP, No. 17 USA Today/ESPN) received the No. 6 seed in the South Region and will begin its 2002 NCAA title defense by taking on the UNC Wilmington Seahawks on Friday, March 21 in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. Game time is set for approximately 8:55 CT (local), 9:55 ET. Maryland will make a school-record 10th straight appearance in the tournament one year after reaching its second-straight Final Four and capturing the first men's basketball national championship in school history. All rounds of the tournament are aired live on CBS-TV.
Maryland (19-9) makes its 20th NCAA appearance in school history and its second-ever as a sixth seed (1981, Mideast Regional Second Round). The Terrapins come into the tournament following an 84-72 loss to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament.
Senior Drew Nicholas, a second team All-ACC selection tied for third in scoring in the conference (17.7 ppg), netted 18 points in the loss and averages 20.7 points per game over the last three contests.
Four-year starting point guard Steve Blake, a first team All-ACC honoree who stands as the most experienced player in the NCAA tournament with 409 career minutes in 13 tourney games started, dished 10 assists against the Tar Heels and has amassed 953 helpers in his four seasons - good enough for seventh in collegiate history.
The conference's fifth-leading rebounder at 7.1 boards per game, third team All-ACC performer Ryan Randle totals 19 games of double-figure scoring (including nine of the last 11 games) after scoring in double-digits only once a season ago as a junior.
Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) champion UNC Wilmington (24-6) has won nine of its last 10 games as it makes its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and third in the last four seasons. The 13th-seeded Seahawks knocked off fourth-seeded USC, 93-89 in overtime, in the first round in Sacramento a season ago, and a 15th-seeded UNCW squad fell to No. 2 Cincinnati, 64-47, in the first round in Nashville in 2000. Two-time CAA player of the year Brett Blizzard averages 21.3 ppg, while fellow senior Craig Callahan (16.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg) anchors the Seahawk frontcourt. Tim Burnette rounds out UNCW's double-figure scorers with 11.0 ppg.
Maryland has only faced UNC Wilmington once in school history - a 74-36 victory over the Seahawks in Cole Field House on Dec. 27, 1997. Rodney Elliott scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to help the Terps give head coach Gary Williams his 150th career victory at Maryland.
Terp Streaks & Storylines
The Terrapins earned a school-record 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 head coach Gary Williams reached his 500th career victory at NC State on March 2. His record stands at 500-280, which makes him the 20th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. Williams is one of eight active coaches in America that have won the NCAA championship, seven of which earned berths to the 2003 tournament.
Maryland is looking to further a school record by capturing its seventh-straight 20-win season.
Senior Wooden Award finalist Steve Blake totals 1,111 points and 953 assists and would be Maryland's only 1,000- point/1,000-assist man ever should he reach both milestones. He enters the NCAA Tournament as the nation's active leader with and is currently seventh on the NCAA's all-time career assists chart, passing former Portland and UNLV standout Greg Anthony, who finished his college career with 950 in 1991. He is only seven assists from the all-time Top 5.
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 7.21 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 averaged 18.2 ppg in ACC games - good enough for second in the conference - and totals 1,164 points for his career.
The Terrapins have outshot 21 of their 28 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 .379, according to the most recent rankings.
Maryland is ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll and No. 17 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll (both released March 10), having moved from No. 14/15 last week.
The Terps have been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 73 consecutive weeks, and the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 for 66-straight votes. Maryland has been in the Top 10 in 21 of the past 37 votes by the Associated Press, and in 24 of 39 by the coaches.
On Deck
The NCAA First and Second Rounds in the Terps' South Region "pod" are played at the Gaylord Entertainment Center on Friday, March 21, at 6:25 CT and 9:55 CT.
A Terp victory over the Seahawks will earn Maryland a matchup with either third-seeded Xavier (25-5, 15-1 Atlantic 10) or 14th-seeded Troy State (26-5, 14-2 Atlantic Sun Champions). That game will tip off on Sunday, March 23, at 1:30 p.m. CT.
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.
- Maryland, Arizona and Kentucky are the only schools in the nation that have achieved each of the following:
Won a national championship in the last 10 years.
Received berths in each of 10 NCAA Tournaments from 1994 to 2003 (Maryland, Arizona, Cincinnati, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky).
Made appearances in the Sweet Sixteen at least six times since 1994 (Maryland, Arizona, Connecticut, Kansas, Duke, Kentucky).
