Feb. 3, 2005
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland basketball team (No. 22 Associated Press, No. 24 USA Today/ESPN) looks to rebound on the road as the Terrapins take on their first new opponent of the expanded ACC on Saturday. The Terps (13-6, 4-4 ACC) won four of their last six games heading into the second half of their conference schedule, which begins against new conference foe Miami (13-7, 4-5 ACC) at the Hurricanes' Convocation Center on Saturday, Feb. 5, at 3 p.m. The game will be televised on the Raycom/Jefferson Pilot Network; UPN-20 (WDCA) in Washington, D.C., and WB-54 (WNUV) in the Baltimore area. Former Maryland football linebacker Tim Brant (Journalism `73) calls the action and Mike Gminski serves as the analyst for the Terps' first meeting with the `Canes since 1970.
Terrapin head coach Gary Williams and the Maryland coaching staff will be wearing sneakers on the sidelines as part of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Coaches vs. Cancer Awareness Day. Williams, an active member of the NABC Coaches vs. Cancer program and a member of the NABC Division I Congress, joins colleagues throughout the nation in the awareness day efforts on Saturday and Sunday. The Coaches vs. Cancer program unites the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the NABC in the fight against the disease, helping to reduce cancer risk through education programs and to raise funds for the ACS.
Following a pair of conference victories over then-No. 2/2 Duke and then-No. 22/21 Georgia Tech, No. 22/24 Maryland fell on the road, 88-73, at Clemson on Tuesday. Playing on only one day's rest, the Terps were topped by an opportunistic Tiger squad, which made 50 percent of its field goals and hit at a near-40 percent rate from 3-point range. Junior John Gilchrist led the Terps with 18 points, adding seven rebounds and three assists, while backcourt mate Chris McCray chipped in with 11 points and has now scored in double-figures in 14 games. Guard Sterling Ledbetter came off the bench and notched Terrapin career-highs in points (10) and minutes (27). The Terps outrebounded the Tigers by one and made 77 percent of their free throws in the losing effort.
The Hurricanes are 13-7 (4-5 ACC) after a home loss to the conference's other new squad, Virginia Tech, 73-63 on Wednesday. Miami jumped out to an excellent start under first-year head coach Frank Haith in the new-look ACC, with wins over NC State, Virginia, Florida State and Clemson. The `Canes boast an outstanding backcourt with two of the league's top scorers. Sophomore Guillermo Diaz ranks second in the ACC in scoring at 18.4 ppg and owns a 22.3 ppg scoring average in conference games, while junior Robert Hite averages 17.7 points. Second-year point guard Anthony Harris is fourth in the league with 4.9 assists per game. Miami's big men, led by William Frisby (9.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Anthony King (6.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg) help the `Canes in leading the league in offensive rebounds.
The Terrapins and Hurricanes are tied, 3-3 in the all-time series, but have not met since 1970 -- a 111-77 Terp victory. Williams faced Miami and `Canes star Rick Barry during his playing days at the University of Maryland in the 1960s.
Terp Streaks & Storylines
Terrapin head coach Gary Williams -- named Dick Vitale's Coach of the Week after the Terps' victories over No. 2 Duke and No. 22/21 Georgia Tech -- is now in fifth place outright on the ACC's all-time wins list with a record of 328-171 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, the ACC's second-winningest active 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, named ESPN.com's National Player of the Week by Andy Katz after the wins over Duke and Georgia Tech, leads the Terps in scoring at 17.0 ppg. He is averaging 21.5 ppg across the last six games, shooting .490 from the field while grabbing 7.0 rebounds per game, dishing 2.0 assists, making 1.3 steals and rejecting 1.0 shots. Caner-Medley has led the Terps in scoring nine times this season, has registered more than 20 points in four of the past seven games and posted a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds four games ago, against NC State on Jan. 23.
Junior point guard John Gilchrist is averaging 16.5 points, 6.0 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 (5.4 apg). Gilchrist, a preseason Naismith and Wooden All-American, is 19th in the league in scoring at 14.4 ppg, is tied for 10th in steals (1.8 spg) and tied for 20th in rebounding (5.0 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, .461 FG pct., .926 FT pct.) missed the Temple game with a bruised tailbone, but came back to action in the last five games, combining to score 57 points (11.4 ppg) with 23 rebounds (4.6 rpg), 11 assists (2.2 apg) and seven steals (1.4 spg). Smooth-shooting sophomore guard Mike Jones earned his first career start against Duke and has averaged 6.9 points in the last seven games, shooting 49 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 six games. In the Terps' last four wins, Maryland averaged 79.0 points per game, grabbed 43.2 rebounds, shot 86-for-113 (.333) from 3-point range and 86-for-113 (.761) from the free throw line. The Terps' allowed their opponents only 68.5 ppg and held their foes to 36.2 percent shooting. In the Terps' last four losses, Maryland averaged 70.8 ppg, grabbed 35.2 boards, shot 10-for-62 (.161) from long range and 77-for-113 (.681) from the charity stripe.
At 82.5 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 9.5 ppg.
Maryland has made a significant improvement at the free throw line, ranking second in the 11-team ACC with a .717 mark from the line after finishing ninth (.631) in 2003-04. Chris McCray is second in the nation and ranks second in the league with a .923 (50-for-54) mark from the line.
On Deck
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.
The Duke Blue Devils come to town for the return game on the ACC schedule on Saturday, February 12 at 9 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN, with College Basketball GameDay broadcasting live from Comcast Center. All Maryland students are invited to attend, and can claim tickets at tickets.umd.edu.
