Nov. 4, 2004
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland basketball team (No. 16 USA Today/ESPN) opens exhibition play against the Division II Bryant Bulldogs of Smithfield, Rhode Island, on Friday at 8 p.m. at Comcast Center. The game will not be on television, but it will be carried live on the radio across the Terrapin Sports Network.
"Voice of the Terps" Johnny Holliday and Chris Knoche call the action on flagship stations WBAL 1090-AM (Baltimore), WMAL 630-AM (Washington, D.C.) and affiliates WTBO 1450-AM (Cumberland), WFMD 930-AM (Frederick), WARK 1490-AM (Hagerstown), WMSG 1050-AM (Oakland), WQMR 101.1-FM (Ocean City) and WTGM 960-AM (Salisbury).
Terps To Hold Open Scrimmage On Wednesday, Nov. 10
The men's basketball team will once again open practice to the public on Wednesday for a Red/Black scrimmage at 4 p.m. Comcast Center's doors open at 3:45 p.m.
Fans of all ages are invited to attend. Admission is free and free parking is available in the Comcast Center lots beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Following the scrimmage, the next public basketball event at Comcast Center will be the Terps' Nov. 13 exhibition against Carleton University of Canada.
Comcast's Italy Special To Air On Nov. 5, Nov. 12 and Nov. 19
Comcast SportsNet's hour-long documentary on the men's basketball team's summer Italian Tour will debut on Friday at 9 p.m. Fans in attendance at the Maryland-Bryant scrimmage or listening to the game on the radio can catch the documentary when it re-airs on Nov. 12 and Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.
The program, titled "The Ultimate Road Game: The Terps In Italy" is hosted by Chick Hernandez and features behind the scenes action from Maryland's trip. Fans are also treated to interviews with head coach Gary Williams and the rest of the Terps from throughout the five-game, 12-day tour.
The ACC Champion Maryland men's basketball team got an early start to their preseason when they took a five-game, 12-day tour of Italy from August 17-28, 2004. The tour gave the Terrapins an opportunity to play against some of Europe's premier professional teams, while allowing the Maryland players to experience the culture and environment of the old country.
The Terps posted wins over a pair of Italian professional squads, and a landslide victory over Kiev (Ukraine), one of the most famous professional teams in the world. Maryland's average margin of victory was +13.0 points per game, and the Terps averaged 98.6 points per outing.
Ultimately the Terps' trip was not about wins or losses, stats or personal accolades. The Terrapins had the tremendous offseason opportunity to bond as a team, all while exploring some of Europe's most ancient cities and most influential cultural centers. It was an experience - for the team, the staff, and the fans - that will not be soon forgotten.
Terps At A Glance
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 Second Round and finished the season with a 20-12 record.
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 Wooden Award Watch List and Dick Vitale's All Rolls Royce Team. Sharpshooter and tenacious defender Chris McCray returns to round out one of the nation's top backcourts, while versatile Nik Caner-Medley and powerful big man Travis Garrison return in the post. All four of the Terps returning starters put forth standout performances as the Terps took a 12-day tour of Italy in August.
The Terrapins, who finished the 2003-04 season ranked No. 19/24 in the polls, have earned preseason rankings spanning from 7th to 20th in the nation.
National Prominence
The 2004-05 Terrapins will look to continue a school-record by earning a berth in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Maryland is currently riding a streak of 11 straight NCAA appearances since 1994, including seven trips to the Sweet Sixteen during that time span, Final Four appearances in 2001 and 2002, and the 2002 national title.
Maryland is one of only five Division I basketball programs that has appeared in the last 11 NCAA Tournaments. Arizona, Cincinnati, Kansas and Kentucky are the others.
Maryland finished the 2004 season ranked 19th in the AP Poll, marking the Terps' eighth-straight Top 25 finish. The Terps have been ranked in the AP and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 consistently since 1994-95.
Study Tabs Terps Among Elite
An academic study by the Leisure Intelligence Group (LIG) released on March 3, 2004, tabbed the University of Maryland men's basketball program among the five most successful and popular teams in NCAA Division I.
LIG, using ESPN sports poll data measuring fan interest, loyalty and behavior relevant to basketball "brands," found that the top five Division I programs in terms of national popularity are Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, UCLA and Maryland. The study indicates that history, tradition and past successes are primary influences of fan interest.
According to the study, conducted by LIG founder and University of Michigan professor Richard Luker, the Atlantic Coast Conference holds the highest measurable level of national fan interest and competitiveness of any league in NCAA Division I basketball -- the results of the study found that the ACC's popularity should not change with expansion.
The ACC was the nation's highest rated league throughout the 2003-04 season according to the RPI report, with five teams ranked in the final Top 25 and seven that appeared in the polls over the course of the year. ACC teams posted a 91-16 (.850) record against non-conference opponents in 2003-04, including a 7-2 record in winning the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
20-Win Seasons
The Terrapins will look to extend an active school-record streak of 20-win seasons to nine in 2004-05. The Terps have established a streak of eight 20-win seasons since 1997, a further testament to the Terps' successful consistency under Williams.
Maryland broke a five-season string of 20-win seasons in 2001-02 with its sixth-straight season of as many victories. The Terps had won at least 20 games from 1971-72 to 1975-76.
Year Record NCAA Appearance
1996-97 21-11 NCAA First Round
1997-98 21-11 NCAA Sweet 16
1998-99 28-6 NCAA Sweet 16
1999-00 25-10 NCAA Second Round
2000-01 25-11 NCAA Final Four
2001-02 32-4 National Champions
2002-03 21-10 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2003-04 20-12 NCAA Second Round
Terps On TV
The Terps' first two exhibition games will not be carried on live television, but for the third consecutive season and the third time in school history, all of Maryland's 27 regular-season games are scheduled to be aired on live TV. The Terps' 2004-05 broadcast slate includes 11 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 on February 17, 2003, every game during the Terps' last two seasons were aired live.
Maryland's matchup with Syracuse marked only the third time in NCAA Tournament history, and the first time since 1995, that the previous two national champions faced each other. That game, which shared the same broadcast window with St. Joseph's vs. Texas Tech and Stanford vs. Alabama, rated as the sixth most-watched broadcast of the entire 2004 NCAA Tournament, and rated as the third most-watched broadcast not including the three Final Four games. More than nine million households were tuned in during that broadcast window.
Maryland's victory over Duke in the 2004 ACC Tournament title game was the most-watched basketball game during "Championship Week" on ESPN. During that week, ESPN and ESPN2 combined to air 56 total games, and the Maryland-Duke game rated No. 1.
Three of Maryland's games ranked in the Top 10 of all of ESPN's college basketball regular-season broadcasts, with two of those contests being played at Comcast Center. The Terps' Jan. 21 clash with Duke was No. 3 on the year, while North Carolina's trip to Comcast Center on Jan. 14 ranked eighth. The Terps victory at No. 1 Florida on Dec. 2 was No. 9 among regular season ESPN broadcasts.
The Terps' rivalry with Duke continues to make for popular viewing, as more than six million total households combined to watch the three matchups in 2003-04.
Scouting Bryant
The Bulldogs are coming off a record-setting season in which they posted a 23-10 record and reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division II Tournament. Bryant downed No. 2 seed C.W. Post in the First Round before being downed by UMass Lowell in a nailbiter that nearly saw the Bulldogs advance to the Elite Eight.
The Bulldogs return three starters in senior guard Mario Correia (12.8 ppg), 6-11 senior center Mike Williams (9.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and junior floor general John Williams (10.8 ppg).
Fourth-year head coach Max Good has led the Bulldogs to the postseason in two of the last three years. Good was the head coach for UNLV for the 2000-01 season prior to his arrival at Bryant. His coaching resume includes an 11-year stint at Maine Central Institute, where he coached former Terp Johnny Rhodes.
The Bulldogs go on to play defending national champion Connecticut in another exhibition game, on Thursday, Nov. 11.
