Jan. 27, 2004
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland basketball team (11-5, 2-3 ACC) hits the road for its second-straight game when the Terrapins head to Winston-Salem, N.C., to take on No. 19/17 Wake Forest (11-4, 2-3 ACC). The Terps meet their league-leading seventh Top 25 opponent on Thursday as Maryland clashes with the Demon Deacons at 7 p.m. at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. For the second-straight season, each of the Terps' 27 regular-season games are scheduled to be televised live - Maryland meets Wake Forest in a nationally-televised contest on ESPN2, with Mike Patrick and Dick Vitale calling the action, and Doris Burke reporting from the sidelines.
The Terps' matchup with the Demon Deacons is the fourth in five games in which Maryland meets up with a ranked ACC foe. It is also the Terrapins' second road game during a stretch where Maryland plays three-of-four contests away from Comcast Center. The Terrapins are 2-2 on the road this season.
The Terrapins have achieved victory in 32 of their last 41 (.780) 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 127-98 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, rebounded from a pair of losses to ranked ACC opponents with a 65-52 conference win in surprisingly icy Clemson, S.C. Sparked by Maryland natives Chris McCray and Travis Garrison, the Terps launched into a 25-3 second-half run that spanned 10:40 to finish off the gritty Tigers. McCray scored seven straight Terrapin points as part of his 11-point performance, to which he added five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Garrison's 11-point effort included 4-of-4 free throws, five boards, two steals and a blocked shot. Terrapin point guard and leading scorer John Gilchrist (14.8 ppg) netted a game-high tying 15 points, second-year swingman Nik Caner-Medley (14.4 ppg) contributed 13 points and senior center Jamar Smith (13.7 ppg, 10.4 rpg) grabbed 10 rebounds, marking his 11th game this season of double-figure caroms. Freshman big man Hassan Fofana contributed a career-high four points in a career-high 15 minutes in his most solid effort to date.
The No. 19/17 Demon Deacons, who began the season on an 11-game win streak, have fallen in their last four outings (three of which were against ranked opponents). The Deacs most recently were downed on Sunday by Florida State in Tallahassee, 75-70. Rookie point guard Chris Paul, the ACC's leader in steals, scored 17 points while fellow freshman Kyle Visser had 12 in 17 minutes and sophomore Eric Williams totaled 11 points and 10 rebounds. Head coach Skip Prosser, now in his third season in Winston-Salem, is 57-23 as the Deacs' head coach.
The Terrapins lead in the all-time series by a 56-51 margin after taking the last 8-of-9 games since Jan. 19, 2000, and winning by an average of 14.0 ppg during that stretch. The Terps last won at Wake's LJVM on Jan. 23, 2002 (85-63).
Terp Streaks & Storylines
Maryland head coach Gary Williams appears in his 800th career game as a head coach when the Terrapins take on the Demon Deacons. In 26 seasons, Williams owns a career record of 513-286 overall (.642), making him the 16th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. He is 306-158 (.659) in 15 seasons as the head coach at Maryland - only six coaches in college basketball history have captured as many victories as the leader of a program in the Atlantic Coast Conference. 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.
Maryland has faced six ranked opponents during the 2003-04 season to date - the most of any team in the ACC - posting a league-high tying three victories against Top 25 foes. In addition to 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 UNC was Maryland's 53rd victory vs. the Top 25 since Williams took over the program in the 1989-90 season.
No. 19/17 Wake Forest will be Maryland's ACC-leading seventh Top 25 opponent of the season. North Carolina and Florida State have faced five ranked teams, followed by Wake (4), Georgia Tech (4), Clemson (4), Duke (3), Virginia (3) and NC State (2). The Terrapins join the Seminoles, Blue Devils, Yellow Jackets and Tar Heels with an ACC-best three Top 25 victories apiece.
Maryland's roster features a combined nine freshmen and sophomores, two juniors and lone senior Jamar Smith. The Terps have lost a combined nine starters over the course of the past two seasons to either graduation or professional careers.
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.
With the victory over No. 1 Florida on Dec. 10, Williams became the winningest active coach in college basketball in terms of wins over top-ranked opponents (6). The Terps have posted victories over five No. 1-ranked foes with Williams as their head coach, and his Ohio State team captured a win over top-ranked Iowa in 1987, giving Williams a grand total of six. The win over the Gators marked the third-straight season in which Maryland has beaten a No. 1 squad.
The 2003-04 Terrapins look to continue a school record this season by earning a berth in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Williams 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.
For the second consecutive season and the second time in school history, all of Maryland's 29 preseason and regular-season games are scheduled to be aired on live television. The Terps' 2003-04 broadcast slate includes 14 games that will be broadcast nationally, on ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports Net, ABC or CBS. With the exception of the snow-delayed victory over Wake Forest last February 17, every preseason and regular season game of the Terps' 2002-03 season was aired live, and the Terps' Feb. 19 tilt at Duke ranked as ESPN's top-rated college basketball telecast of all of last year.
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
Maryland returns home on SuperBowl Sunday for a matchup with NC State. The Terrapins meet up with the Wolfpack on Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. in a nationally-televised matchup on FOX Sports Net.
The Terrapins then hit the road once again for "rivalry week" as Maryland visits Virginia on Wednesday, Feb. 4, for a 9 p.m. tilt on the Raycom/JP Network.
