Feb. 20, 2004
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland basketball team (13-9, 4-7 ACC) heads to Durham, N.C., for a Sunday matchup with the No. 3/3 Duke Blue Devils (21-3, 10-2 ACC) at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Maryland looks to become the first team to win on Duke's home floor since the 2000-2001 Terps did exactly that -- 39-consecutive Blue Devil home victories ago. The Terps take on the Devils at Cameron at 4 p.m. in what has been college basketball's hottest rivalry for the past several years. Maryland meets Duke in a nationally-televised contest on CBS, with Jim Nantz and Billy Packer calling the action.
Quality conference and non-conference wins have earned the Terps a RPI rating of 35 and a strength of schedule rating of eight. The Terrapins take on their ACC-leading 10th ranked opponent of the season in No. 3/3 Duke. The Terps own three victories on the year against opponents ranked in the Top 25, and five wins over teams with a RPI of 60 or better, while Maryland has not fallen to a team with an RPI higher than 67. A win on Sunday would make the Terrapins the fifth team in the ACC with as many as four Top 25 victories, and would give Maryland a sixth Top-60 RPI win, a third ACC road win, and a fourth road win overall. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils own a 39-game win streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium that spans nearly three full seasons. The last opponent to beat Duke on its home floor was the Terrapins - 91-80 on Feb. 27, 2001.
Maryland comes into the game after falling at home to No. 18/16 Georgia Tech on Thursday, 75-64. The Terrapins beat the Jackets on the boards (44-42) and forced 20 Tech turnovers but were hampered by a tough shooting night and could not turn an early lead into a victory. Sophomore forward Travis Garrison continued his improved and aggressive play, leading four Terps in double-figures with a career-high 16 points, and chipped in seven rebounds (five offensive). Second-year guard Chris McCray scored 11 for his third-straight double-digit outing, and swingman Nik Caner-Medley and rookie D.J. Strawberry contributed 10 apiece. Senior center Jamar Smith, the ACC's second-leading rebounder, grabbed 11 boards to register his 13th double-figure rebounding game on the season.
The Blue Devils enter the meeting after falling in two straight games as well - 78-74 to then-No. 21 NC State on Feb. 15 before a 90-84 loss at No. 15 Wake Forest Wednesday. The Devils, who have not lost three straight games since 1995-96, are led by sophomore guard J.J. Redick, who averages 16.7 ppg, leads the ACC in free throw and 3-point percentage, and netted 26 against the Terps earlier this season. Freshman Luol Deng (14.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg), sophomore Shelden Williams (12.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg), junior Daniel Ewing (11.7 ppg, .410 3-pt FG pct) and senior Chris Duhon (10.2 ppg) round out the Blue Devils' top scorers. Duhon is second in the ACC with a 6.7 assists per game average.
The Terrapins trail in the all-time series by a 98-55 margin, but the teams have split the last four regular-season series and Sunday marks the 13th meeting between the two teams in the last five seasons, including twice in the ACC Tournament and once in the 2001 Final Four. Duke downed the Terps 68-60 earlier this season on Jan. 21.
Terp Streaks & Storylines
The Terrapins are 34-13 (.723) in their last 47 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 129-102 in ACC regular-season play in his 15 seasons at Maryland.
In 26 seasons, Williams owns a career record of 515-290 overall (.640), making him the 16th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. He is 308-162 (.655) 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 nine 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.
Sunday's matchup with No. 3/3 Duke marks Maryland's ACC-leading 10th Top 25 opponent of the season. Clemson and Florida State have faced nine foes in the Top 25, followed by North Carolina (8), Wake (8), Duke (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 with each school ranked No. 56 or better.
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. The Terps' Feb. 19 tilt at Duke ranked as ESPN's top-rated college basketball telecast of all of last year, and the matchup from this year rated as the second-most watched to date.
On Deck
Maryland plays its third game in six days on Tuesday, Feb. 24, as the Terps play host to the Clemson Tigers at Comcast Center. The 8 p.m. game will air on the Raycom/Jefferson Pilot Network.
