Nov. 15, 2006
Maryland takes on St. John's in one semifinal of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2 and can be heard on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network. The game will also be broadcast on XM Satellite Radio (Channel 193).
• The Terps carry a record of 3-0 into Thursday's game after posting a 93-64 victory over Florida A&M on Sunday (Nov. 12) at Comcast Center.
• St. John's scored wins over North Florida (74-53) and Navy (72-49) to advance to the semifinals. The Red Storm lead the all-time series with Maryland, 2-1. Maryland is 86-72 all-time against Big East opponents.
• The Red Storm was picked ninth in the Big East preseason coaches' poll. Senior forward Lamont Hamilton was named to the Preseason All-Big East Team.
• The second semifinal on Thursday has Michigan State (3-0) taking on Texas (2-0). The two semifinal winners will meet on Friday at 9:00 p.m. for the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic. The consolation game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Friday. All four games will be televised by ESPN2.
• The Coaches vs. Cancer program, created by the NABC, exists to leverage the strength, community leadership and celebrity of the country's basketball coaches to raise awareness and reduce cancer risk through education programs while raising funds. Since 1996, the event has raised approximately $3.3 million for the benefit of Coaches vs. Cancer.
• Three of the last five national champions have participated in the College Hoops Classic, including Maryland (2002), Syracuse (2003), and Florida (2006).
Defense Never Rests
The Terps have turned up their defense in each of their first three games. Maryland has forced its opponents into an average of 23 turnovers per game through the first three games of the season.
• The 69 forced turnovers through three games is better than any three-game stretch by the Terps during 2005-06.
• The Terrapins have improved their scoring defense in each game this season. After yielding 75 points to Hampton, Maryland held Vermont to 63, before limiting Florida A&M to 54.
• The Terps are averaging 10.3 steals per game and have recorded 10 blocked shots through three games.
Tourney Time
Maryland has an all-time record of 98-38 (.721) in regular season tournaments. The Terps have appeared in 61 regular season tournaments and have captured 27 championships.
• Maryland is 3-1 in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic after wins over Hampton and Vermont. The Terrapins went 1-1 in their only other appearance during the 2001-02 season. The Terps fell to Arizona (71-67) before defeating Temple (82-74).
November To Remember
The Terrapins will be one of the busiest teams in the month of November, as Maryland will play a school-record eight games in the opening month of the season.
• Maryland's previous high was seven games during November of 1998.
• The Terps are 53-10 (.841) all-time in November under Gary Williams.
Experience Is Key
The Terps return one of the most experienced teams in the land. Maryland boasts six seniors who have combined for 469 career games and 148 starts. The Terrapins have four returnees (James Gist, Ekene Ibekwe, Mike Jones, and D.J. Strawberry) who started at least 15 games. The Terrapins return 59 percent of their scoring and 53 percent of their rebounding from last season.
Fresh Five
In addition to the experienced-laden returnees, coach Williams has brought five newcomers into the fold for 2006-07 season. Junior Bambale Osby joins the program after spending 2005-06 at Paris Junior College in Texas. In addition to Osby, four freshmen have been added to the mix this season. Guards Eric Hayes and Greivis Vasquez are expected to see plenty of action in the backcourt this season. They will be joined by forwards Jerome Burney and Landon Milbourne. The four freshmen posted a combined record of 117-5 last season as high school seniors.
Head Coach Gary Williams
Head coach Gary Williams is the ninth-winningest active coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball with an overall record of 562-318 (.638). He ranks second among active ACC coaches with 355 wins at Maryland (3rd overall) and also ranks second among active league coaches (3rd overall) with 147 ACC victories. Maryland's 81-63 win over Hampton moved Williams into third place on the league's all-time coaching wins list. He is the Terps' all-time winningest coach.
• Williams agreed to a two-year contract extension on November 9. The school's all-time winningest coach, Williams has a guaranteed contract with Maryland through 2011. The current three years of conditional extensions will remain intact, meaning the contract could extend to May of 2014. Williams is now in his 18th season as head coach at Maryland. He guided the Terps to the 2002 NCAA National Championship, and the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship.
Solid Start
Maryland has opened the season 3-0 for the fourth time in the last five years.
• Maryland's last 4-0 start was during the 2003-04 season.
• Maryland's last 5-0 start was during the 1998-99 season when the Terps started the year 10-0.
• Maryland's best start under Gary Williams is 11-0 (1996-97).
• The Terps are averaging 92.0 points per game this season and allowing just 64.0.
• Maryland has trailed for just 1:23 of 120:00 this season.
• Maryland has limited its opponents to 33 percent shooting from the field. The Terps have held their opponents to just 23 percent (17-fo-75) from three-point range.
Three Point Proficiency
Maryland has proven to be one of the nation's most proficient 3-point shooting teams since the rule was instituted in 1987.
• Maryland has made at least one 3-pointer in 255 consecutive games.
• Maryland has failed to make a 3-pointer just twice in the last 349 games.
• The last game the Terps failed to make a 3-pointer was Jan 7, 1999 when Maryland went 0-for-7 from 3-point range in a 71-66 win at Virginia.
• Since Gary Williams took over, Maryland has hit a 3-pointer in 540-of-547 games.
• Since the rule was instituted in 1987, Maryland has hit at least one 3-pointer in 598-of-607 games.
• Maryland made a school-record 217 treys in 2001-02.
• The Terps' top 3-point shooting percentage was 46.1% (122-290) in 1987-88.
• Maryland's record for 3-pointers in a game is 13: vs. North Carolina (1/9/02) and William & Mary (12/27/01).
• The most 3-pointers attempted in a single game was 31 vs. Clemson (1/22/00).
Top 25 Foes
Since Gary Williams took over in 1989-90, Maryland has 62 wins over Top 25 teams, including four last year.
• Williams is the nation's winningest active coach vs. top-ranked teams with six career victories over a No. 1
opponent (5 at Maryland; 1 at Ohio State).
• Under Williams, Maryland has defeated 16 top-5 opponents, 28 top-10 opponents and the No. 1 team five times.
• Maryland has 13 wins over top-10 teams the last five years, including a 73-71 victory over then No. 6 Boston College during 2005-06.
• The Terps have defeated at least one top-10 opponent in 13-of-17 seasons under Williams, including 10 straight.
• Williams has led Terps to victories over No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 ranked-teams in six of the last eight seasons.
