March 19, 2003

GAME: No. 11 North Carolina-Wilmington (24-6) vs. No. 6 Maryland (19-9).

REGIONAL: South, first round.

TIME: Friday, 10:10 p.m. EST.

SITE: The Gaylord Entertainment Center; Nashville, Tenn.

Maryland hopes that its tournament experience will be enough to carry it to a second straight national championship.

The Terrapins begin their quest with an opening-round matchup against No. 11 North Carolina-Wilmington, the Colonial Athletic Association tournament champion.

Maryland has reached the last two Final Fours, and believes it has enough experience to make it back again.

"We're the only defending champion in this tournament and we're proud of that," said coach Gary Williams, who has led Maryland to 10 straight NCAA appearances. "It's something we've lived with all year. Now, we're going to use it to give us the pride and toughness necessary to do well in the NCAA tournament."

Maryland boasts three experienced seniors in Steve Blake, Drew Nicholas and Tahj Holden, who are 11-2 in the NCAA tournament.

"Tahj, Steve and I played major minutes last year and the year before that," Nicholas said. "As one of the most experienced teams in the field, we're definitely ready."

The Terrapins have lost their last two games, but that hasn't affected the confidence of their veterans.

"We're the only team back as the champion, and we will try to use it to our advantage," Blake said.

The game figures to be highlighted by what should be an excellent backcourt matchup with Blake and Nicholas against Brett Blizzard and Craig Callahan, who average nearly 38 points.

"We're the only team back as the champion, and we will try to use it to our advantage." Senior guard Steve Blake

"Maryland has a great backcourt with Blake and Nicholas and we too have a great backcourt with Brett and Craig," Seahawks coach Ben Brownell said. "Their backcourt will be a great matchup with ours."

Blizzard is a three-time CAA tournament MVP and averages 21.3 points.

The Terps know not to overlook the Seahawks, who advanced to the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season and the third time in four years. Last year, NC-Wilmington stunned No. 4 seed Southern California 93-89 in overtime in the first round.

"I think people still don't know who we are," Blizzard said. "We're the underdog against Maryland and it would be the same way if we were playing Maryland in Trask (Coliseum), we would still be the underdog. We've always been the underdog and we're looking forward to playing teams that we're not expected to win against."

The winner will face either No. 3 Xavier or Troy State in the second round on Sunday.

PROBABLE STARTERS: UNC Wilmington - F Tim Bernette, F Anthony Terrell, G John Goldsberry, G Blizzard, G Callahan. Maryland - F Calvin McCall, F Holden, C Ryan Randle, G Blake, G Nicholas.

TEAM LEADERS: UNC Wilmington - Blizzard, 21.3 ppg and 3.6 apg; Callahan, 7.1 rpg. Maryland - Nicholas, 17.7 ppg; Randle, 7.1 rpg; Blake, 7.2 apg.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: UNC Wilmington - Automatic bid, Colonial Athletic Association tournament champion. Maryland - At-large berth, Atlantic Coast Conference.

ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: UNC Wilmington - 1-2, 2 years. Maryland - 32-18, 19 years.