Men's Basketball Ranked No. 10 In Final USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll

April 8, 2003

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The 2002-03 Maryland basketball team (No. 17 AP, No. 10 USA Today/ESPN) posted a 21-10 record en route to a final Top 10 ranking, the program's 10th straight NCAA Tournament berth and third consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. One season after reaching its second-straight Final Four and capturing the first national championship in school history, Maryland made its fifth Sweet 16 appearance in the last five seasons and the seventh during the Terps' 10-year run of NCAA appearances since 1994.

Maryland finished the season ranked No. 10 according to the final USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, released April 8. It marks Maryland's fourth Top 10 finish in the coaches poll in the last five seasons, and the program's 10th overall. Maryland has been ranked in the Top 10 in 25 of the last 40 votes by the college head coaches.

Final College Basketball Coaches Top 25

The USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top 25 college basketball coaches final poll, with number of first-place votes and record in parentheses, total points and previous ranking:

Team Record Points Prev 1. SYRACUSE (31) 30-5 775 12 2. KANSAS 30-8 742 6 3. TEXAS 26-7 694 5 4. KENTUCKY 32-4 666 1 5. ARIZONA 28-4 654 2 6. MARQUETTE 27-6 626 11 7. OKLAHOMA 27-7 595 3 8. PITTSBURGH 28-5 559 4 9. DUKE 26-7 493 7 10. MARYLAND 21-10 384 17 11. CONNECTICUT 23-10 371 24 12. WAKE FOREST 25-6 361 9 13. ILLINOIS 25-7 345 10 WISCONSIN 24-8 345 19 15. NOTRE DAME 24-10 333 20 16. FLORIDA 25-8 309 8 17. XAVIER 26-6 253 14 18. MICHIGAN ST. 22-13 252 -- 19. LOUISVILLE 25-7 244 13 20. STANFORD 24-9 164 16 21. BUTLER 27-6 133 -- 22. MISSOURI 22-11 122 25 23. CREIGHTON 29-5 121 15 24. OKLAHOMA ST. 22-10 94 23 25. DAYTON 25-6 81 18

Others Receiving Votes: GONZAGA 73, AUBURN 65, MISSISSIPPI ST. 59, MEMPHIS 45, CALIFORNIA 41, SAINT JOSEPH'S 20, UTAH 14, NC STATE 9, PURDUE 8, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 8, OREGON 6, ST. JOHNS 4, TULSA 4, ARIZONA ST. 1, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 1, GEORGETOWN 1

Some highlights from 2002-03...

Maryland 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 came back from a 14-point deficit vs. Michigan State in the regional semifinal, but concluded an eight-game NCAA tournament win streak, 60-58, in San Antonio.

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 seven times since 1994 (Maryland, Arizona, Connecticut, Kansas, Duke, Kentucky).

Maryland head coach Gary Williams reached his 500th career victory at NC State on March 2. His record stands at 502-281, which makes him the 18th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. Williams now totals 25 NCAA tournament victories - eighth among active coaches - and is 21-9 at Maryland.

Honorable mention AP All-American and All-ACC first team selection Steve Blake totaled 1,139 career points and 972 assists after leading the conference in assists for three straight seasons. He finished his career fifth on the NCAA's all-time career assists chart, and is the only player in ACC history to total more than 1,000 points, 800 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals.

Blake led the ACC in assists as a sophomore (6.9), junior (7.9) and senior (7.1). He became Maryland's career assist leader last season as a junior, and set records for starts (136) and minutes (4,312) as a senior in 2002-03. He is one of 15 players in Maryland basketball history to have his jersey number honored.

Senior shooting guard Drew Nicholas led the Terps in scoring was second in the ACC with a 17.8 points per game average. His +10.7 ppg improvement from his junior to senior seasons was tops among ACC players as he was named second team All-ACC, second team NABC all-region, and USBWA all-district.

Nicholas ranked fourth in the ACC in 3-point field goal percentage and 3-point field goals made, but his game-winning long-range shots at NC State and vs. UNC Wilmington in the NCAA tournament's first round will be remembered for decades.

The Terps have been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 73 consecutive weeks, and the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 for 67-straight votes. Maryland has been in the Top 10 in 21 of the past 37 votes by the Associated Press, and in 25 of 40 by the coaches, including the season-ending poll released April 8.

As a team, the Terrapins led the ACC and the nation in assists at 18.48 apg. The Terps also paced the ACC in field goal percentage defense (.378, 3rd nationally), scoring margin (+13.0 ppg), field goal percentage (.464), 3-point field goal percentage (.390), 3-point field goal percentage defense (.322), blocked shots (6.39 bpg), steals (10.39 spg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.33).

The Terps 21-10 record extended an active school record streak of 20-win seasons to seven. Maryland broke a record of five straight 20-win seasons, from 1972 to 1976, last season.

Maryland's victory over then No. 12/14 Xavier in the NCAA's second round was the 50th win over a ranked team since Gary Williams took the helm for the 1989-90 season.

The Terps tied for second during the regular season in the always competitive Atlantic Coast Conference, marking the fourth second-or-better finish in the last five years, and a school record sixth straight finish in the league's Top 3. Similarly, Maryland's 11-5 ACC record marked a school record sixth straight season of double-figure ACC victories.

The Terps' 87-72 win over then No. 1 Duke on Jan. 18, 2003, at Comcast Center gave Gary Williams his fifth-ever victory over a top-ranked team, tying him with Duke's Mike Krzyzewski for the most victories over No. 1 among active ACC coaches.

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