Terps Hope Fourth Straight Win Brings Much Holiday Cheer
12/21/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2005
COLLEGE PARK, Md, -
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Tip-off
No. 16 Maryland looks for its seventh win in the last eight games and its third straight win overall in the first of four consecutive non-conference games...The Terps have moved up five spots in the AP Top-25 poll the last two weeks and are at their highest ranking since Nov. 29, 2004 (No. 12)...Maryland is 5-0 at home this season and has won eight straight games at Comcast Center dating back to last year...The Terps have won 25 consecutive non-conference home games and are 112-2 in such games under Gary Williams...After playing its first nine games in a 24-day period, Maryland is coming off a 12-day break from games.
Last Time Out
Junior forward Ekene Ibekwe, who is averaging 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds the last two games, matched a career best with 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Terps past then No. 6 Boston College, 73-71, in the ACC opener for both on Dec. 11. In a game which featured 13 ties and 11 lead changes, it was Maryland which made the key plays down the stretch to hang on for its 13th win over a top-10 team in the last five seasons. Chris McCray added 16 points, five rebounds and five assists, while becoming the 42nd player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career points. He scored five of the Terps' final eight points, including 3-of-4 free throws to help seal the win.
Maryland vs. American
Maryland is 12-1 all-time against American dating back to the first meeting in 1926. The Terps have won 12 straight meetings with AU, including an 82-61 decision last season. Maryland has limited the Eagles to just 54.0 points per game the last three meetings. Gary Williams started his college coaching career at American (1978-82), where he led the Eagles to back-to-back 20-win seasons, two postseason appearances and the 1981 East Coast Conference Championship. American won a school-record 24 games in 1981.
Head Coach Gary Williams
Head coach Gary Williams is the Atlantic Coast Conference's second-winningest active coach (5th overall) with a 341-180 (.655) record as the Terps' mentor, while also ranking second among active ACC coaches (4th overall) with 140 conference wins. Williams is the 11th-winningest active coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball with an overall record of 548-308 (.640). He is just eight wins shy of becoming Maryland's all-time winningest basketball coach (Charles "Lefty" Driesell, 348-159 from 1969-86).
