Feb. 23, 2004
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland basketball team (13-10, 4-8 ACC) begins a stretch in which it plays three of its final four regular-season games at home when the Clemson Tigers (10-14, 3-10 ACC) visit Comcast Center on Tuesday. The Terps look to get back on the winning path within the friendly confines of their home arena when they take on the Tigers at 8 p.m. - marking the Terps' third game in six days. For the second-straight year, each of the Terps' 27 regular-season games are scheduled to be televised live - Maryland meets Clemson in a regionally-televised contest on the Raycom/Jefferson Pilot Network, UPN-20 (WDCA) in Washington, D.C., and WB-54 (WNUV) in Baltimore.
Quality conference and non-conference wins have earned the Terps a RPI rating of 34 and a strength of schedule rating of four. 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 68. The Terrapins have played 10 games against ranked teams in 2003-04, the most in the ACC.
The Terrapins come into the game having fallen in their last three outings, most recently an 86-63 decision at Duke on Sunday. Sophomore point guard John Gilchrist, who leads the Terps in scoring at 14.0 ppg, paced the squad with 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and added three steals. Second-year forward Travis Garrison, who averages 12.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals over the last three games, chipped in with 11 pts, four boards, two steals and a blocked shot, while Nik Caner-Medley put in a nine-point, three-rebound effort. Rookie guard D.J. Strawberry continues to impress for the Terrapins, scoring nine points and tying a career-high with four steals. Strawberry currently leads the Terps and ranks sixth in the ACC with a 1.9 steals per game average. Though the Terps outrebounded the Blue Devils 38-35 (22-13 on the offensive glass), Duke converted 23 turnovers into 31 points for the victory. The Terps, meanwhile, forced Duke into 19 turnovers.
The Tigers head into the contest after falling to Virginia at home on Saturday, 58-55. Junior Olu Babalola, Clemson's fourth-leading scorer, led the Tigers with 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals against the Cavaliers., while UVa held Clemson's top scorer, junior forward Sharrod Ford (11.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg) to four points and four rebounds. Sophomore point guard Shawan Robinson, who leads the Tigers with 14 games in double-figures, averages 14.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in his last eight outings. First year head coach and Berlin, Md., native Oliver Purnell has a three-year stint as an assistant coach at Maryland on his resume. He was on the UM sideline from 1985-86 to 1987-88 under then-Terrapin head coach Lefty Driesell.
The Terrapins lead in the all-time series by a 83-42 margin, and have won the last 12 contests in the series dating to Jan. 24, 1998. The Terps have won the last six-straight in College Park, including a 91-52 decision in College Park last Feb. 25.
Terp Streaks & Storylines
The Terrapins are 34-14 (.708) in their last 48 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 129-103 in ACC regular-season play in his 15 seasons at Maryland.
In 26 seasons, Williams owns a career record of 515-291 overall (.639), making him the 16th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. He is 308-163 (.654) 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 10 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 marked 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), Virginia (7), Georgia Tech (7), and NC State (5). Five ACC teams are in this week's Top 25 and the conference boasts the nation's top RPI with each school ranked No. 63 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
The Terps continue their homestand as No. 15 Wake Forest visits College Park on Saturday, Feb. 28 (1 p.m., ABC). The Terrapins have won eight of the last 10 meetings with the Deacons, and hope to avenge a 93-85 loss from Jan. 29 in Winston-Salem. Home victories will be paramount to the Terps' quest for an 11th-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
