Jan. 31, 2005
Clemson Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The red-hot Maryland basketball team (13-5, 4-3 ACC), fresh off a pair of hard-fought wins over ranked ACC opponents, must quickly turn to the next challenge as the Terrapins head south for a road matchup with Clemson (10-10, 1-7 ACC). The contest with the Tigers represents the second game in only three days for the surging Terrapins, as the teams meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The Terps-Tigers tilt will be televised on regional ACC sports networks, airing locally on Comcast SportsNet. Mike Hogewood and Dan Bonner call the action from Clemson's Littlejohn Coliseum, where the Terps have won six in a row against the Tigers.
The Terrapins posted a second-straight win over a Top 25 team in the league on Sunday, using a tremendous defensive effort to top No. 22/21 Georgia Tech, 79-71. It was Maryland's second-straight victory over an opponent that participated in last season's Final Four.
The Terrapins limited the Jackets to 35 percent shooting from the field, and held Tech to a 4-of-20 (20 percent) performance on the night from long range. Maryland's defense held the Jackets' triple-threat of Jarrett Jack, Will Bynum and Isma'il Muhammed to just 10-of-43 shooting from the field (23 percent). Including a stellar defensive effort against No. 2/2 Duke on Wednesday that limited the Blue Devils to 33 percent field goal shooting and a 28 percent clip from 3-point range, Maryland has held its opponents to just 34.3 percent field goal shooting across the last two games.
For the ninth time this season and the sixth game in a row, Nik Caner-Medley paced the Terps on the offensive end, leading four double-figure Terrapins with a game-high 19 points against Tech. The Terrapin junior has reached double-figures in 16 of 18 games this season and in 11-straight contests, a mark that is currently fifth-best among all ACC players. Chris McCray scored eight of his 16 points in the contest's final 1:56, while backcourt mate John Gilchrist netted 15, dished seven assists and grabbed five rebounds in his second 40-minute performance of the season. Ekene Ibekwe, coming off the bench for the second straight game, tallied 14 points with nine boards and four rejections, and fellow Terrapin postman Travis Garrison scored seven and collected a career-high 15 rebounds. Garrison's effort helped the Terps to a 48-39 rebounding advantage for the game and marked the biggest night on the boards for a Terp since Ryan Randle grabbed 16 against Xavier in the second round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament (March 23, 2003).
The Tigers are 10-10 (1-7 ACC) after an 80-70 home loss on Saturday at the hands of NC State. Senior Sharrod Ford, who leads the Tigers with averages of 14.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, notched his 18th career double-double in the loss, with 19 points and 10 boards. Rookie guard Cliff Hammonds (10.1 ppg) added 17 points, while junior Shawan Robinson (10.0) added 15. Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell was an assistant coach at Maryland under Charles "Lefty" Driesell for three seasons, from 1985-86 to 1987-88.
The Terrapins have won the last 13 games, including the last six at Clemson, in a series that dates to 1938.
Terp Streaks & Storylines
Terrapin head coach Gary Williams is now in fifth place outright on the ACC's all-time wins list with a record of 328-170 as Maryland's head coach, surpassing former Virginia head coach Terry Holland ( 326 wins, 1974-90). Williams is also fourth outright in terms of victories over ACC league teams (136), as he surpassed former Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Cremins, who totaled 134 from 1982-2000 with the Yellow Jackets.
Under Williams, Maryland has defeated 60 Top 25 teams, including No. 25/24 Memphis (Nov. 26, 84-61), No. 2/2 Duke (Jan. 26, 75-66) and No. 22/21 Georgia Tech (Jan. 30, 79-71) this season. The Terps have downed 23 Top 10 opponents, 15 Top 5 foes and the No. 1 team in the nation five times under Williams. Williams, currently the ACC's second-winningest head coach and one of only two mentors who have won the national championship, has led the Terps to victory over the No. 3, No. 2 or No. 1 team in the nation in each of the last six seasons.
Terrapin junior forward Nik Caner-Medley leads the Terps in scoring at 17.4 ppg, after netting 21 points at Wake Forest (Jan. 11), 36 at home vs. Temple (Jan. 15) 26 vs. Virginia (Jan. 19), 15 against NC State (Jan. 23), 25 at Duke (Jan. 26) and 19 vs. Georgia Tech (Jan. 30). He is averaging 24.0 ppg across the last five games, shooting .524 from the field while grabbing 6.8 rebounds per game, dishing 2.0 assists, making 1.4 steals and rejecting 1.2 shots. Caner-Medley has led the Terps in scoring nine times this season, has registered more than 20 points in four of the past six games and posted a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds three games ago.
Junior point guard John Gilchrist is averaging 12.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists over the last two games. He currently is second in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1) and third in assists (5.6 apg). Gilchrist, a preseason Naismith and Wooden All-American, is tied for 19th in the league in scoring at 14.2 ppg, is ninth in steals (1.8 spg) and 23rd in rebounding (4.9 rpg).
Sophomore D.J. Strawberry, who was among the ACC's steals leaders with 24 on the year, will miss the remainder of the basketball season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Starting two-guard Chris McCray (12.2 ppg, .462 FG pct., .923 FT pct.) missed the Temple game with a bruised tailbone, but came back to action in the last four games, combining to score 46 points (11.5 ppg) with 21 rebounds (5.3 rpg), 10 assists (2.5 apg) and six steals (1.5 spg). Smooth-shooting sophomore guard Mike Jones earned his first career start against Duke and has averaged 6.8 points in the last six games, shooting 45 percent from the floor and 46 percent from long range. Jones burned Temple for 21 points (Jan. 15), connecting on a career-high four 3-pointers.
This Terrapin squad, which as a team has made comeback after comeback over the last 14 months, bounced back from a pair of losses on the road in the ACC by winning four of the next five games. In the games against then-No. 4/3 Wake (Jan. 11) and then-No. 3/4 North Carolina (Jan. 8), the Terps combined to shoot eight percent from 3-point range (3-of-36), 62 percent from the free throw line (26-of-42) and grabbed an average of only 32 rebounds. In their four wins since (Temple, Virginia, No. 2 Duke and No. 22/21 Georgia Tech), the Terps have combined to shoot 33 percent from long range (20-for-60), 76 percent from the charity stripe (86-for-113) and have averaged 43.2 boards per game.
At 83.1 points per game, the Terps own one of the most potent scoring offenses in the nation. Maryland is sixth in the NCAA (Jan. 24), trailing only North Carolina, Washington, Niagara, Wake Forest and Louisville in terms of scoring output. The Terps are ranked third in the ACC in scoring offense, behind only UNC and Wake. The Terps outscore their opponents by an average of 10.8 ppg.
Maryland has made a significant improvement at the free throw line, ranking second in the 11-team ACC with a .714 mark from the line after finishing ninth (.631) in 2003-04. Chris McCray is 11th in the nation and ranks second in the league with a .923 (48-for-52) mark from the line.
On Deck
Another road game follows as the Terrapins hit South Beach to take on new ACC foe Miami on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. The game will be televised on the Raycom/Jefferson Pilot Network.
The Terps return home to face their other new ACC opponent, Virginia Tech, on Tuesday, Feb. 8. The 9 p.m. matchup will be televised on Comcast SportsNet.
