University of Maryland Athletics

Terps Face Xavier For A Third Straight Trip To The Sweet 16

Men's Basketball Maryland Athletics

Terps Face Xavier For A Third Straight Trip To The Sweet 16

March 22, 2003

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The sixth-seeded Maryland basketball team (No. 17 AP, No. 17 USA Today/ESPN) faces No. 3 seed Xavier (No. 12/14) in a NCAA second round matchup in Nashville on Sunday. Game time is set for 3:40 CT (local), 4:40 ET. Maryland continues its 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 (ESPN/espn2 coverage permitting).

  • Maryland (20-9) advanced to the tournament's second round for the sixth-straight season and for the eighth time during its run of 10-straight tournament appearances, surviving a first round game thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by senior guard Drew Nicholas. Nicholas' shot fell with less than one full second on the clock to lift the Terrapins to a 75-73 victory over UNC Wilmington.
  • Nicholas, a second team All-ACC selection tied for third in scoring in the conference (17.8 ppg), finished with a team-high 22 points and averages 19.0 ppg in his last six outings. After playing for three seasons behind All-American and 2002 Final Four MVP Juan Dixon, Nicholas has made the most of his time to shine as a senior as the team's leading scorer all season. Nicholas' 22 points against UNCW bested his previous NCAA tourney high by 13 (9 vs. Siena, 2002 NCAA first round).
  • Four-year starting point guard Steve Blake, a first team All-ACC honoree who is the most experienced player in the NCAA tournament with 431 career minutes in 14 tourney games started, overcame foul trouble by scoring eight points and dishing seven assists. His 3-pointer with 19 seconds to play gave the Terps their first late-game chance for victory, and his seven assists give him 960 for his career - good enough to tie for fifth in collegiate history.
  • The ACC's fifth-leading rebounder at 7.4 boards per game, third team All-ACC performer Ryan Randle totals 20 games of double-figure scoring (including 10 of the last 12 games) after scoring in double-digits only once a season ago as a junior. His tremendous 15-point, 16-rebound performance included two clutch free throws with 41 seconds to play, and gave him his seventh double-double of 2002-03.
  • Xavier (26-5) is making its third-straight NCAA appearance with its highest seed in school history at No. 3. Senior David West is the Musketeers' leading scorer (20.1 ppg) and rebounder (11.9 ppg) but was third in Xavier's first round victory over Troy State (71-59) with 12 points. Senior guard Lionel Chalmers and junior Romain Sato chipped in 20 and 18 points, respectively, in Xavier's 71-59 win over the Trojans.
  • Maryland has only faced Xavier once in school history on Dec. 28, 1976. A Terp squad led by John Lucas, Steve Sheppard and Mo Howard downed the Musketeers, 84-74, in the Maryland Invitational at Cole Field House.

    Terp Streaks & Storylines

  • Maryland attempts to make its 13th appearance in the Sweet 16, its fifth in the past six years, and its seventh during the Terps' 10-year run of NCAA appearances since 1994.
  • The Terrapins extended their current school-record by winning their 20th game on Friday. Maryland has now won as many games for seven-straight seasons after eclipsing the previous record of five-straight (1971-72 to 1975-76) last season.
  • Maryland head coach Gary Williams reached his 500th career victory at NC State on March 2. His record stands at 501-280, which makes him the 20th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. Williams now totals 14 career 20-win seasons, tying the likes of Dave Bliss (Baylor), Gene Keady (Purdue) and Roy Williams (Kansas) with the 12th-most among active coaches.
  • Senior Wooden Award finalist Steve Blake totals 1,119 points and 960 assists and would be Maryland's only 1,000- point/1,000-assist man ever should he reach both milestones. He is the NCAA Tournament's active leader and is currently tied for fifth on the NCAA's all-time career assists chart with Syracuse's Sherman Douglas, who finished his college career with 960 in 1989.
  • 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 7.06 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 17.8 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 1,186 points for his career.
  • The Terrapins have outshot 22 of their 29 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 .378, 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

  • A Terp victory over Xavier will earn the Terps a trip to the Sweet 16 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. That game is scheduled for Friday, March 28, and will pit the Maryland/Xavier winner with the Florida/Michigan State winner.
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