Jan. 10, 2005
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland men's basketball team, which authored many thrilling comebacks throughout the course of its 2003-04 regular season, the 2004 ACC Tournament, and even during its summer Italian tour against elite professional teams, looks regroup as the Terps hit the road again to take on a second-straight Top 5 ACC opponent in Wake Forest. Maryland looks to rebound at 9 p.m. on Tuesday in a contest that will be televised regionally on the Raycom/Jefferson Pilot Network; UPN-20 (WDCA) in Washington, D.C., and WB-54 (WNUV) in the Baltimore area. Tim Brando and Mike Gminski call the action from the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Terrapins have won nine of their last 12 matchups with the Demon Deacons, including three of their last five trips to Winston-Salem. After falling in the home and away regular-season matchups a season ago, the Terps triumphed with an 87-86 victory in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. Maryland now leads in the all-time series, 57-53.
2004 ACC Tournament MVP John Gilchrist has averaged 20.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.4 steals over the last seven games, all while shooting 56 percent from the field and hitting at a 50 percent mark from long-range. He currently ranks in the Top 10 among ACC players in scoring (10, 16.5 points per game), assists (3rd, 6.0 apg), assist-to-turnover ratio (2nd, 2.1), steals (4th, 27) and field goal percentage (T-9th, .500). He is also listed among league leaders in 3-point percentage (11th, .422) and free throw percentage (15th, .673). Gilchrist, a preseason Naismith and Wooden All-American, is currently third on the squad in rebounding (5.6 rpg, 18th in the ACC).
Sharpshooter and tenacious defender Chris McCray (13.3 ppg, .504 FG pct., .909 FT pct.) completes one of the nation's top backcourts. One of the most consistent Terrapins through 12 contests, McCray has reached double-figure scoring in all but two games this season and has been elected one of the team's co-captains. Versatile forward Nik Caner-Medley (14.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, .485 FG pct., .805 FT pct.) has benefited from 10 pounds of added muscle in the offseason, and powerful big man Travis Garrison (10.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg) continues to put up solid numbers in the post.
Sophomore Ekene Ibekwe has assumed the Terps' fifth starting position, and is averaging 8.8 ppg and has been one of five Terrapins close to double-figures all year. Ibekwe's 7.1 rebounds per game lead the squad and ranks 10th among ACC players. Ibekwe's 2.0 blocks per game average is a team-best and rates fourth in the league.
Maryland looks to bounce back after suffering a 109-75 loss at North Carolina on Saturday, the first of two-consecutive road games against tough conference opposition. The Terrapins, who still own one of the top scoring offenses in the ACC and the nation at 87.0 points per game, had four scorers in double-digits against the Tar Heels, forced 24 turnovers and made 14 steals in defeat. McCray and Garrison each scored 13, while Gilchrist chipped in 11 and Caner-Medley had 10 points. James Gist (9 points on 3-of-4 FGs, 3-of-4 FTs in his ACC road debut) and sophomore D.J. Strawberry (8 points, 2 steals) put forth solid efforts off the bench.
Terp Streaks & Storylines
Head coach Gary Williams was named one of Washingtonian Magazine's "Washingtonians of the Year" for 2004 in the publication's January, 2005, issue. He joins 16 others on the list, including D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, who recently brought Major League Baseball back to the nation's capital, and Tim Russert of NBC's Meet the Press. Williams was inducted as part of the inaugural class in the Washington, D.C., Sports Hall of Champions this past September, and will be inducted into the University of Maryland's Alumni Hall of Fame in the spring, receiving the university's greatest alumni honor.
Williams owns a career record of 531-296 overall, making him the 14th-winningest active coach in America. He is 324-168 in his 16th season as the head coach at Maryland and 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 26 NCAA Tournament victories -- ranking ninth among active coaches -- and is 22-10 at Maryland for a .688 NCAA winning percentage.
Williams is only two wins away from tying former Virginia head coach Terry Holland as the fifth-winningest ACC basketball coach in history. Holland totaled 326 win as the Cavaliers' mentor from 1974 to 1990.
The Terps-Deacons matchup features two of the most potent offenses in the nation. The Terps are currently third in the nation, and second in the ACC, with an 87.0 points per game average. The Demon Deacons are currently third in the league and 11th in the nation at 85.3 ppg. The Deacons have shot better than 50 percent from the floor in three-straight games, and in six of their last eight, while the Terrapin defense has allowed opponents only 40 percent shooting from the field.
As a team, the Terps rank among ACC leaders in several statistical categories: rebounding (43.8 rpg, 1st), scoring offense (87.0 ppg, 2nd), free throw percentage (.715, 2nd), blocked shots (6.8 bpg, 3rd), , field goal percentage defense (.400, 3rd), assists (17.0, 3rd), , 3-point field goal percentage defense (.320, 3rd), steals (11.2 spg, 4th), margin of victory (+15.3, 4th) and turnover margin (+4.33).
Maryland has made a significant improvement at the free throw line, ranking second in the 11-team ACC with a .715 mark from the line after finishing ninth (.631) in 2003-04. Chris McCray is second in the league with a .909 (30-for-33) mark from the line. He was a perfect 18-for-18 through the Terps' first seven games of the season. As a team the Terps led the league for several weeks.
Last March, 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 NCAA Second Round and finished the season with a 20-12 record.
Maryland continued a current school record with a berth in last season's NCAA Tournament. Williams returned to his alma mater in 1989 and has guided the Terrapins to 11 straight NCAA Tournaments since 1994, making the Terrapins one of only five teams in the nation riding a streak as long.
Gilchrist averaged 24.0 points per game, 5.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists through three ACC Tournament games to become Maryland's third-ever tourney MVP (Albert King, 1980; Len Bias, 1984). He shot at a .634 clip from the field and .643 from 3-point range, with incredible efforts against Wake (16 pts, 6 asst, 5 rebs), NC State (30 pts, 7 asst, 4 rebs, 4 stls, 1 TO) and Duke (26 pts, 7 rebs, 6 asst).
In August, the 2004 ACC Champs embarked on a 12-day, five-game summer tour of Italy. The Terrapins posted a 3-2 record, averaging 98.6 points per game and a margin of victory of +13.0 ppg, downing a pair of professional Italian teams and posting a landslide victory over world-famous Kiev (Russia). The Terps visited Rome, Florence, Venice and Lake Como, exploring influential centers of culture and art while getting the chance to bond as a team.
On Deck
The Terps return home to take on Temple on Saturday, Jan. 15, to begin a three-game homestand. The Terps square off with the Owls and legendary head coach John Chaney at 2 p.m. That game will be televised on ESPN2.
A pair of home conference games follow for the Terps, with Virginia visiting on Jan. 19 (9 p.m., RJ) and NC State making the trip on Jan. 23 (6 p.m., FSN).
