Jan. 19, 2004
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland basketball squad (10-4, 1-2 ACC) looks to become only the eighth team in NCAA history to knock off the nation's No. 1 team twice in one season as the Terrapins play host to top-ranked Duke (14-1, 4-0 ACC) on Wednesday at Comcast Center. Duke comes to College Park as the No. 1 team in the nation for the third-straight season, as college basketball's hottest rivalry is renewed at 9 p.m. on ESPN, with Mike Patrick, Dick Vitale and Doris Burke calling the action in what will undoubtedly be an electric setting at Comcast Center. For the second-straight season, each of the Terps' 27 regular-season games are scheduled to be televised live - Maryland meets the Blue Devils in a nationally-televised contest on ESPN.
Including this season, the Duke Blue Devils have been ranked No. 1 in each of their last three trips to College Park. On Jan. 18, 2003, Maryland handed their top-ranked rivals an 87-72 loss in the first-ever meeting between the two schools at Comcast Center. The Terps had downed the No. 1 Blue Devils, 87-73, on Feb. 17, 2002, during their national championship season and as part of an unblemished 15-0 record at Cole Field House. Maryland's win this season over No. 1 Florida (Dec. 10) marks the third-straight season in which Maryland has beaten a No. 1 squad.
Including the victory over No. 1/1 Florida, the Maryland Terrapins are ranked third in college basketball history with nine all-time wins over top-ranked opponents. Only UCLA and North Carolina, with its win over No. 1 UConn on Saturday, have more. Terrapin head coach Gary Williams has six career victories over No. 1-ranked foes, making him the winningest active coach in college basketball in wins over top-ranked teams. The Terps have posted wins over five No. 1-ranked foes with Williams as their head coach, and Williams' Ohio State team captured a win over top-ranked Iowa in 1987. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski trails Williams with five career victories over No. 1.
Only seven teams in college basketball history have defeated a No. 1-ranked opponent twice in one season, and three of those programs are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference: North Carolina (1997-98), Georgia Tech (1993-94), Oklahoma (1989-90), Missouri (1989-90), Duke (1965-66), and City College of New York (1949-50).
The Terrapins have achieved victory in 31 of their last 39 (.799) ACC regular-season games since the 2000-01 season, including a 15-1 regular-season championship in 2001-02. Overall the Terps have captured the league's regular-season championship four times, including outright titles in 2002, 1975 and 1980 and a tie for first in 1995. Williams is 126-96 in ACC regular-season play in his 15 seasons at Maryland.
The Terps, who are receiving votes in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN polls, are coming off a week in which they defeated No. 9 North Carolina (who moved to No. 7 with a weekend win over Connecticut) at home and fell to No. 12 Georgia Tech (who subsequently moved to No. 11 ) on the road. The Terrapins trailed by as many as 11 early against the Yellow Jackets, before coming back to take a 47-40 lead with 15 minutes to play in the second half and eventually falling, 81-71. Sophomore point guard John Gilchrist sparked the offense with 27 points on 11-of-19 (.579) shooting, and added six boards and three steals, while Chris McCray scored nine and rookies Mike Jones and Ekene Ibekwe combined for 14 points. ACC rebounding leader Jamar Smith grabbed 13 boards and netted seven points for the Terrapins.
No. 1/1 Duke comes into the game with a 14-1 record (4-0 ACC) and an 11-game win streak since falling to Purdue on Nov. 29. Sophomore guard J.J. Redick leads four double-figure Duke scorers at 15.5 ppg and shoots at a .413 clip from beyond the arc - second in the ACC only to Duke's third-leading scorer, junior guard Daniel Ewing (12.0 ppg, .426 3-pt FG pct.). Freshman swingman Luol Deng is the ACC's top rookie scorer at 14.2 ppg, while league-leading shot blocker Shelden Williams averages 3.7 per game in addition to 11.7 points and 7.7 rebounds. Krzyzewski owns a 604-176 record in his 24th season with the Devils.
The Terrapins trail in the all-time series by a 97-55 margin, but have won the last two at home and have faced the Devils 11 times in the last four seasons, including twice in the ACC Tournament and once in the 2001 Final Four.
Terp Streaks & Storylines
Duke is the sixth ranked opponent (out of a scheduled 11) that Maryland will face during the 2003-04 season, and the Terps are 3-2 against ranked teams thus far. In addition to an ACC victory over No. 9/11 North Carolina (Jan. 14), the Terps defeated a pair of ranked opponents during non-conference play in No. 15/13 Wisconsin (Dec. 2) and No. 1/1 Florida (Dec. 10). The win over the Tar Heels was Maryland's 53rd victory over the Top 25 since Gary Williams took over the program in the 1989-90 season.
The Terrapins bring a new-look squad to the floor for 2003-04, as Maryland's roster features a combined nine freshmen and sophomores, two juniors and lone senior Jamar Smith. Williams, now in his 15th season at Maryland and his 26th season overall, returned to his alma mater in 1989 and has since guided the Terrapins to 10 straight NCAA Tournament berths - a run that includes seven Sweet Sixteen appearances, Final Four showings in 2001 and 2002, and the 2002 NCAA Championship. Maryland is currently one of only six schools in the nation riding a streak of 10-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The 2003-04 Maryland squad appears to be the youngest Williams has coached since the 1993-94 season. That year, with a five-man freshman class that included Keith Booth, Joe Smith and current Terp assistant coach Matt Kovarik, the Terps posted an 18-12 record en route to the Terps' first Sweet Sixteen appearance of the Williams era. The 1994 NCAA Tournament appearance was the first of Maryland's current streak of 10 straight. The 1993-94 Terps' posted an 8-8 ACC record.
Williams reached his 500th career victory at NC State on March 2, 2003. His record stands at 512-285, which makes him the 16th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. Williams totals 25 NCAA Tournament victories - ranking ninth among active coaches - and is 21-9 at Maryland for a .700 winning percentage after once again leading the Terps to the Sweet Sixteen last season.
Williams captured his 300th victory as the head coach of the Terrapins on Dec. 10 at Florida. Williams' record at Maryland currently stands at 305-157. Only six coaches in college basketball history have captured as many victories as the leader of a program in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Maryland is receiving votes in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN coaches polls. Including finishing the 2002-03 season ranked No. 17, the Terrapins had been ranked in 77 straight AP Polls. Maryland has been "receiving votes" in both polls all season long, and the young squad has been ranked as high as No. 24.
On Deck
The Terps next head to Clemson for a 6:30 p.m. matchup with first-year head coach Oliver Purnell and the Tigers on Jan. 25 on FOX Sports Net.
The Terps face their fourth ranked ACC opponent in five games with a trip to Winston-Salem, N.C., to meet the No. 10 Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
