Maryland Announces 2004-05 Men's Basketball Schedule
8/18/2004 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 18, 2004
Revised 2004-05 Men's Basketball Schedule in PDF Format (Sept. 2)
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland men's basketball team opens what will be a challenging 2004-05 schedule when it plays host to Jackson State out of the Southwest Conference on Friday, Nov. 19 at Comcast Center. The 2004 ACC Champions welcome the Tigers as part of a slate that features 16 regular-season games and two exhibitions to be played at their state-of-the-art home arena - a site where the Terps averaged a school-record 17,950 fans per game last season and finished fifth in the nation in home attendance for the second-straight year. The Terps' season-opening matchup will be broadcast live on Comcast SportsNet at 8 p.m. For the third-consecutive year, each of Maryland's regular-season contests will be aired on live television, including at least 11 games that will air nationally on CBS, ESPN, ESPN2 or FOX Sports Net. "Our schedule allows us to play some of the top teams in the country, and it should be highly rated, just like last season," said head coach Gary Williams, whose Terps played the second-toughest schedule of 2003-04 according to the end-of-year RPI report. "We're looking forward to playing and being competitive with the top teams in our conference and in the country." The Terrapins, who return 11 letterwinners from a team that posted a 20-12 record a season ago and made an 11th-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, are ranked at No. 10 this preseason according to ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale. The Terps will tune up with a pair of early-November exhibition games at home, taking on NCAA Division II power Bryant College (Rhode Island) on Nov. 5, and facing two-time defending Canadian national champion Carleton University on Nov. 13. After rounding out their season-opening homestand with Mercer on Nov. 25, the Terrapins hit the road to take on head coach John Calipari and the No. 23 Memphis Tigers in the MassMutual Classic (formerly the Hall of Fame Tipoff) in Springfield, Mass. The Terps-Tigers clash on Nov. 26 (9 p.m., ESPN2) is the first of several marquee non-conference matchups for the Terps in the upcoming season. From there, the Terrapins play in their first true road game of the year when they travel to Wisconsin's Kohl Center as part of the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Terps face the preseason No. 18 Badgers for the fourth time in five seasons on Tues., Nov. 30 on ESPN2 at 9:30 p.m. Maryland posted a 73-67 overtime victory over Wisconsin at Comcast Center in last year's ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Maryland opens play in the ninth-annual BB&T Classic when the Terps face George Mason on Saturday, Dec. 4, at 1 p.m. at MCI Center. Preseason No. 5 Michigan State joins local squads George Washington, GMU and the Terps in the annual event to benefit the Washington, D.C. Children's Charities Foundation. The consolation and championship games are slated for Sunday, Dec. 5, at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. The Terrapins return home for a five-game December homestand, beginning with a meeting against UNC Asheville (Dec. 12). After opening their ACC schedule against Florida State at Comcast Center on Dec. 19 (6 p.m., FOX Sports Net) and taking on local team American University on Dec. 23, the Terps then face 2004 NCAA Tournament participant Liberty (Dec. 28) and in-state squad Mount St. Mary's (Jan. 4) after a break for the holiday. ACC play continues with road games at North Carolina (Jan. 8, Noon, ESPN) and Wake Forest (Jan. 11, 9 p.m., Raycom/Jefferson Pilot) - both teams that have been ranked No. 1 in preseason polls. Before finishing the bulk of the conference schedule, John Chaney's Temple Owls visit Comcast Center on Saturday, Jan. 15 (2 p.m., ESPN2) to mark the Terps' final non-league game of the regular-season. The Terps and Owls - along with their legendary coaches - clash for the first time since 2001. The 2003-04 ACC was rated by far the strongest conference in the NCAA Divison I RPI report, and with seven teams making preseason Top 30 polls, the Terrapins will certainly face daunting challenges as league play rolls on in January, February and March. Key matchups for the Terps include their annual showdowns with preseason No. 9 Duke (Jan. 26 at Cameron Indoor Stadium, ESPN; Feb. 12 at Comcast Center, ESPN), national finalist Georgia Tech (Jan. 30 at Comcast Center, FOX Sports Net) and regional rival Virginia (Jan. 19 at Comcast Center, RJ Split; Feb. 19 at University Hall, CBS). Maryland's home matchup with preseason No. 20 NC State on Jan. 23 (6 p.m., FOX Sports Net) is the second part of a UM-NC State doubleheader, following a contest in which the Lady Terps take on the Wolfpack at 1 p.m. at Comcast Center. The Terrapins face both of the ACC's latest additions in 2004-05, traveling to Miami on Feb. 5, and engaging in a home-and-away series with Virginia Tech. The Terps play host to the Hokies on Feb. 8 at Comcast Center, and visit Blacksburg, Va., in their regular-season finale on March 5. In all, the Terrapins could play 18 regular season games against teams that participated in postseason tournaments in 2003-04 (NCAA - Memphis, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Liberty, North Carolina, Wake Forest, NC State, Duke and Georgia Tech; NIT - George Mason, George Washington, Florida State, Temple, Virginia). The Terps are scheduled to play 12 contests against teams ranked in Vitale's preseason Top 30. The ACC Tournament comes to the Washington, D.C., area for only the fourth time in its 52-year history as it will be held at MCI Center, March 10-13. The league championship tourney was previously held at the Capital Centre Landover, Md., in 1976, 1981 and 1987. The Terrapins will attempt to earn a bid to a 12th-consecutive NCAA Tournament, which begins March 17 at First and Second Round sites. The Terrapins, currently on a 12-day Italian Tour, officially kick off the 2004-05 season at their annual Midnight Madness celebration on Oct. 15.
