Nov. 29, 2004
Wisconsin Game Notes in PDF Format
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland basketball team (No. 13 AP, No. 14 USA Today/ESPN) takes on No. 20/17 Wisconsin for the fourth time in five seasons when the Terps meet the Badgers Tuesday as part of the sixth-annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The game will air live on ESPN2 at 9:30 p.m. ET, with Brent Musburger and Steve Lavin calling the action and Erin Andrews reporting from the sidelines.
The Terrapins return 11 letterwinners and four starters from what was statistically the youngest team in the nation in 2003-04. ACC Tournament MVP John Gilchrist, who led the Terps in scoring, assists and steals a season ago, has been named to the preseason Naismith, Wooden and Rupp National Player of the Year Award Watch Lists and Dick Vitale's All Rolls Royce Team. Sharpshooter and tenacious defender Chris McCray returns to complete one of the nation's top backcourts, while versatile Nik Caner-Medley and powerful big man Travis Garrison return in the post. Sophomore Ekene Ibekwe rounded out the Terps' starting five in Maryland's first three games. Ibekwe has proven himself more than capable of handling his share of the inside duties, with 8.3 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game to date.
Gilchrist was sensational in the Terps' 84-61 Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic victory over No. 25/24 Memphis, earning MVP honors. He recorded his first career double-double, and nearly made it a triple-double, with a team-high tying 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals. McCray also added 16 points with four assists and two steals as the Terps overwhelmed the Tigers defensively, netting 32 points on 21 Memphis turnovers and registering 24 fast break points. Caner-Medley, playing in front of numerous friends and family members that made the trip to Springfield, Mass., from Maine, contributed 15 points and five assists, while Garrison scored nine with 10 boards to help the Terps to a 60-20 "points in the paint" advantage. Sophomore D.J. Strawberry, who is currently one of five Terps with double-figure scoring numbers at 10.7 ppg, chipped in with eight points and three steals, while classmate Mike Jones tallied nine points in 11 minutes before his home-state crowd.
Gary Williams is the 16th-winningest active coach in America with an overall record of 525-293. His 318 victories at Maryland places him sixth all-time among ACC Coaches. Williams was inducted into the greater Washington, D.C., Sports Hall of Champions in the offseason and will be given the University of Maryland's highest alumni honor this spring when he is inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame.
Maryland owns a 3-2 record overall in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge after a 73-67 overtime victory over No. 15/13 Wisconsin in the event at Comcast Center last Dec. 2. The Terps fell to Indiana, 80-74 in overtime in Indianapolis in 2002, defeated Illinois, 76-63, at Cole Field House in 2001, lost to Wisconsin in Milwaukee in 2000, and downed Iowa, 83-65, in 1999 at the Baltimore Arena. The Terps are 1-1 vs. Wisconsin all-time in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Terp Streaks & Storylines
The Terrapins are one of three ACC teams to "bring home the hardware" from a number of season-opening special events last week. The Terrapins earned the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic trophy with their win over Memphis and John Gilchrist took home the MVP crown. Maryland's ACC brethren Wake Forest and North Carolina also took home trophies from the Preseason NIT and the Maui Invitational, respectively.
As of Saturday, the Terps currently are No. 1 in the Sagarin Power Ratings -- a rankings system that combines won-loss record and strength of schedule.
The Terps' convincing victory over No. 25/24 Memphis began a stretch in which the Terrapins could face three ranked teams in four games across 10 days. Next on the schedule for the Terps: at No. 20/17 Wisconsin (Monday, Nov. 30), vs. George Mason (Saturday, Dec. 4) and possibly No. 10/9 Michigan State (BB&T Championship/Consolation, Sunday, Dec. 5).
Last March, head coach Gary Williams led his Terrapins to the 2004 ACC Tournament championship, giving Maryland its first ACC title since 1984. The Terrapins became one of only three teams in ACC Tournament history to knock off the top three seeds when they downed No. 3 Wake Forest (87-86), No. 2 NC State (85-82) and No. 1 Duke (95-87 (ot) en route to an automatic bid and No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Terps reached the NCAA Second Round and finished the season with a 20-12 record.
Maryland continued a current school record with a berth in last season's NCAA Tournament. Williams returned to his alma mater in 1989 and has guided the Terrapins to 11 straight NCAA Tournaments since 1994, making the Terrapins one of only five teams in the nation riding a streak as long.
The young Terrapins of 2004 earned the ACC's automatic berth by winning Maryland's first conference tournament title in 20 years. Maryland was 14-11 (5-9 ACC) on Feb. 28 following a home loss to Wake Forest before reeling off five-straight victories. The Terps won the last two regular-season ACC games vs. Virginia and No. 16/19 NC State and posted the trio of ranked wins in the ACC tourney over the No. 15/14 Demon Deacons, the No. 17/20 Wolfpack and No. 5/4 Duke. In all, Maryland earned seven victories over the Top 25 in 2003-04 -- the most since its school-record national championship run in 2002 (9) -- and played the second-toughest schedule in the nation. The Terps extended a school record of consecutive 20-win seasons to eight (1996-97 to 2003-04), winning six of their last seven games in 2004, and five straight headed into the NCAA Tournament.
Williams owns a career record of 525-293 overall, making him the 16th-winningest active coach in America. He is 318-165 in his 16th season as the head coach at Maryland and 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 26 NCAA Tournament victories -- ranking ninth among active coaches -- and is 22-10 at Maryland for a .688 NCAA winning percentage.
As a sophomore, John Gilchrist was the first player to lead the Terps in scoring (15.4 ppg) and assists (5.0 apg) since Walt Williams in the 1990-91 season, and the first point guard to lead Maryland in both categories since John Lucas in the 1973-74 season.
Gilchrist averaged 24.0 points per game, 5.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists through three ACC Tournament games to become Maryland's third-ever tourney MVP (Albert King, 1980; Len Bias, 1984). He shot at a .634 clip from the field and .643 from 3-point range, with incredible efforts against Wake (16 pts, 6 asst, 5 rebs), NC State (30 pts, 7 asst, 4 rebs, 4 stls, 1 TO) and Duke (26 pts, 7 rebs, 6 asst).
In August, the 2004 ACC Champs embarked on a 12-day, five-game summer tour of Italy. The Terrapins posted a 3-2 record, averaging 98.6 points per game and a margin of victory of +13.0 ppg, downing a pair of professional Italian teams and posting a landslide victory over world-famous Kiev (Russia). The Terps visited Rome, Florence, Venice and Lake Como, exploring influential centers of culture and art while getting the chance to bond as a team.
On Deck
The Terps meet local rival George Mason on Saturday, Dec. 4, at 1 p.m to open the 10th Annual BB&T Classic, to benefit the Washington, D.C., Children's Charities Foundation. The Terps face either No. 10/9 Michigan State or George Washington on Sunday in the Consolation (12:30 p.m.) or Championship (3 p.m.)
