University of Maryland Athletics

Terrapins Take On No. 18/16 Georgia Tech At Comcast Center

Men's Basketball Maryland Athletics

Terrapins Take On No. 18/16 Georgia Tech At Comcast Center

Basketball Fans: Plan To Arrive Early On Thursday

Feb. 17, 2004

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland basketball team (13-8, 4-6 ACC) takes on its second of three-straight ranked ACC opponents as the Terrapins face No. 18/16 Georgia Tech (18-6, 5-5 ACC) at Comcast Center. Maryland looks to get back on track against Tech as the Terrapins begin a stretch in which they play four of their final six regular-season games at home. The Terrapins meet the Yellow Jackets at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday night, and fans are encouraged to arrive early to avoid traffic delays. For the second-straight season, each of the Terps' 27 regular-season games are scheduled to be televised live - Maryland meets Georgia Tech in a nationally-televised contest on ESPN2.

  • The Terrapins take on their ninth ranked opponent of the season in No. 18/16 Georgia Tech, tying Maryland with Clemson for the ACC lead in games against ranked foes. The Terps are 3-5 on the year against opponents ranked in the Top 25, helping Maryland to a RPI rating of 32 and a strength of schedule rating of 10. The Terrapins look to become the fifth team in the ACC with as many as four Top 25 victories with a win on Thursday (Duke 5-1, Georgia Tech 4-2, North Carolina 4-4, Florida State 4-4).

  • Maryland won two of its last three games and is receiving votes in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN Coaches polls, released Monday. On Sunday vs. North Carolina, the Terrapins nearly overcame a 22-point deficit with a spirited second-half comeback and a season-high 15 steals. Led by sophomore guard Chris McCray, who scored 14 of his team-high 16 points in the second half, the Terrapins came within three points with 4:53 to play in the game, but their rally fell just short as UNC prevailed 97-86. McCray cashed in on 6-of-7 free throw attempts and added six assists and three steals while pacing five Terrapin double-figure scorers. Senior center Jamar Smith netted 14 with eight rebounds, sophomore forward Nik Caner-Medley added 13, and second-year floor general John Gilchrist scored 12 with eight assists and a career-high tying five steals. Sophomore forward Travis Garrison, who has come on strong in his last three starts, added ten points, while rookie D.J. Strawberry chipped in with eight points, four rebounds and four takeaways. Ekene Ibekwe put in an eight-point, five-rebound performance that included three incredible dunks.

  • The Yellow Jackets come into the game after falling on the road at Virginia, 82-80, on Saturday. Tech is 1-4 on the road in the conference and 4-5 on the road overall. At Virginia, junior guard B.J. Elder, who leads the Jackets in scoring at 16.2 ppg, netted a game-high 22 points, while senior Marvin Lewis added 13 and junior transfer Will Bynum chipped in with 12. Head coach Paul Hewitt is now in his fourth season on the Georgia Tech sideline with a record of 66-50.

  • The Terrapins trail in the all-time series by a 32-28 margin, but have won five of the last eight and are 12-4 vs. Tech since Dec. 12, 1996. The Terrapins look to avenge an 81-71 loss from Jan. 17 in Atlanta and have won nine-straight over the Yellow Jackets in College Park, since Jan. 4, 1995.

    Terp Streaks & Storylines

  • The Terrapins are 34-12 (.739) in their last 46 ACC regular-season games since the 2000-01 season, including a 15-1 regular-season championship in 2001-02. 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. Head coach Gary Williams is 129-101 in ACC regular-season play in his 15 seasons at Maryland.

  • In 26 seasons, Williams owns a career record of 515-289 overall (.641), making him the 16th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. He is 308-161 (.657) in 15 seasons as the head coach at Maryland as 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 eight ranked opponents during the 2003-04 season to date, posting 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 in January was Maryland's 53rd victory vs. the Top 25 since Williams took over the program in the 1989-90 season.

  • Thursday's matchup with No. 18/16 Georgia Tech marks Maryland's ACC-leading ninth Top 25 opponent of the season. Besides the Terps, only Clemson has faced as many foes in the Top 25, followed by Florida State (8), North Carolina (8), Duke (7), Wake (7), Georgia Tech (6), Virginia (6) and NC State (5). A win would give the Terps four Top 25 victories, tying them with FSU, UNC and Georgia Tech for second in the league in victories over ranked foes. Five ACC teams are in this week's Top 25 and the conference boasts the nation's top RPI.

  • 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 guided the Terrapins to 10 straight NCAA Tournament berths since 1994 - 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.

    On Deck

  • Maryland takes on its third-straight ACC Top 25 opponent in No. 3/3 Duke on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 4 p.m. on CBS. College basketball's hottest rivalry heads to Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham - where the Blue Devils have won 39-straight since falling to the Terps on Feb. 27, 2001.
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