March 25, 2003
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The sixth-seeded Maryland basketball team (No. 17 AP, No. 17 USA Today/ESPN) makes its third straight Sweet 16 appearance and seventh in the last 10 years as the Terrapins take on the No. 7 seed in the South Region, the Michigan State Spartans. The 2002 NCAA champion Terps face the 2000 titlewinners at approximately 8:57 CST (local), 9:57 EST, in the second game of the evening. Top-seeded Texas meets No. 5 Connecticut at 6:27 CST, with the Maryland-Michigan State game following 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1. All rounds of the tournament are aired live on CBS-TV (ESPN/ESPN2 coverage permitting).
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. The 2003 trip to the Sweet 16 marks the 13th-ever showing for the Terps, and the seventh of the Gary Williams Era.
Maryland (21-9) used a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by senior Drew Nicholas to down UNC Wilmington in the NCAA first round, 75-73, and put together a solid team effort to outlast David West and Xavier, 77-64, in the second round. Nicholas and fellow senior Ryan Randle led the Terps over the Musketeers with 17 points apiece, while four-year starting point guard Steve Blake added nine points, nine assists and seven rebounds. The Terrapins scorched the nets by shooting 51.7 percent for the game, while limiting West and Musketeer forward Romain Sato to a 10-of-31 (.323) performance from the field. Meanwhile, the Terp bench outscored Xavier's reserves, 23-0.
Nicholas, a second team All-ACC selection whose scoring average is second in the conference (17.8 ppg), netted 39 points in the Terrapins' first two NCAA games (19.5 ppg). 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 and has scored in double figures in all but two games this season.
Four-year starting point guard Steve Blake, a first team All-ACC honoree who is the most experienced player in the NCAA tournament with 468 career minutes in 15 tourney games started, posted his 14th game of eight-plus assists in 2003 vs. Xavier. He totals 969 assists for his career - good enough for fifth in history.
Third team All-ACC performer Ryan Randle totals 21 games of double-figure scoring (including 11 of the last 13 games) after scoring in double-digits only once a season ago as a junior. His tremendous 17-point, eight-rebound performance against one of the nation's top big men in West followed his seventh double-double of 2002-03 (15 pts, 16 rebs) vs. UNCW.
The Spartans (21-12) are making their fifth Sweet 16 showing in the past six years, and earned a spot in San Antonio by beating Colorado, 79-64, and Florida, 68-46, in the early rounds. Freshman guard Maurice Ager scored 16 points while MSU's leading scorer, sophomore Chris Hill (14.0 ppg), totaled 12 and forward Erazem Lorbek added 12 and seven rebounds as the Spartans topped the Gators.
Maryland's only meeting with Michigan State occurred 48 years ago - on Dec. 29, 1955. The Spartans were victorious in the Mid-Winter Festival at Cole Field House, handing the Terps a 95-75 loss.
Terp Streaks & Storylines
Maryland makes 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 have won eight NCAA tournament games in a row, including 2002's national championship run. The Terp seniors are 13-2 overall in tournament games.
Maryland head coach Gary Williams reached his 500th career victory at NC State on March 2. His record stands at 502-280, which makes him the 20th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. Williams now totals 25 NCAA tournament victories, and is 21-8 at Maryland.
Senior Wooden Award finalist Steve Blake totals 1,128 points and 969 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 fifth on the NCAA's all-time career assists chart. He is 14 away from fourth all-time.
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 7.27 assist per game average this season also leads ACC players.
Senior shooting guard Drew Nicholas paces the Terps and is second 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 1,203 points for his career.
The Terrapins have outshot 23 of their 30 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 .377, 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.
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 Michigan State will earn the Terps a trip to the Elite Eight for the fifth time in school history, and the third time in three seasons. The Terrapins would meet the winner of the No. 1 Texas/No. 5 Connecticut regional semifinal in San Antonio on Sunday, March 30.
