March 22, 2003
GAME: No. 6 Maryland (20-9) vs. No. 3 Xavier (26-5).
REGIONAL: South, second round.
TIME: Sunday, 7:25 p.m. EST.
SITE: The Gaylord Entertainment Center; Nashville, Tenn.
A miracle shot got Maryland past the opening round. It might take a lot more than that for the Terrapins to keep alive their hopes of defending their national championship.
Hoping to build off the momentum of a thrilling victory, Maryland faces possibly the nation's best player in a second-round matchup with David West and third-seeded Xavier.
The road to another national title was expected to be significantly tougher this year for the sixth-seeded Terrapins, and that was true right from the start.
Drew Nicholas swished a fall-away 3-pointer as time expired, giving the Terps a 75-73 win over North Carolina-Wilmington on Friday. Maryland avoided becoming the first defending champ since UCLA in 1996 to lose in the first round.
"I took the ball as far as I could and tried to make something happen," Nicholas said. "I know the shot probably didn't look the prettiest, but it went in. I really couldn't believe it when it went through."
The next challenge for the Terps will be to shut down West, who may be ready for a breakout game. The three-time Atlantic 10 player of the year has been held to 12 points in each of his last two games, his lowest point total in a two-game span this season.
West battled foul trouble in the opening round, but his Musketeers still managed to beat Troy State 71-59.
"I know I have to be on the floor," said West, who also had just eight rebounds Friday. "It threw me off my rhythm in the second half. I tried to come out and get going, but I never could get in the swing of things."
Xavier's other top offensive weapons stepped up in West's place.
Guard Lionel Chalmers went 5-of-9 from 3-point range and scored 20 points, while small forward Romain Sato added 18 points and 11 rebounds. Chalmers and Sato, who also had seven assists apiece, have each appeared in four NCAA tournament games and have combined to average more than 31 points.
The Musketeers are hoping to ride the highest NCAA tournament seeding in school history to the round of 16. Their only other trip came in 1990.
Maryland, which has been to the regional semifinals four of the last five years, won the only previous meeting between these schools in 1976.
The winner this time advances to the round of 16 to face either Florida or Michigan State on Friday.
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Maryland - F Calvin McCall, F Tahj Holden, C Ryan Randle, G Steve Blake, G Nicholas.
Xavier - F Sato, F West, C Anthony Myles, G Chalmers, G Dedrick Finn.
TEAM LEADERS:
Maryland - Nicholas, 17.8 ppg; Randle, 7.4 rpg; Blake, 7.2 apg.
Xavier - West, 20.1 ppg and 11.9 rpg; Finn, 4.3 apg.
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Maryland - At-large bid, Atlantic Coast Conference; beat North Carolina-Wilmington 75-73, first round.
Xavier - At-large bid, Atlantic 10, beat Troy State 71-59, first round.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD:
Maryland - 33-18, 20 years.
Xavier - 7-14, 14 years.
