Nov. 27, 2006

Maryland visits Illinois as part of the 8th Annual ACC-Big 10 Challenge. The game can be heard on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network. The contest will be televised by ESPN. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Assembly Hall.
• Maryland is 7-0 for the first time since the 1998-99 season. The Terps jumped out of the gate to a 10-0 start that season and finished the year 28-6.
• Illinois carries a mark of 7-0 into Tuesday's game. The Fighting Illini posted a 51-49 win over Miami (Ohio) on Friday, before downing Bradley (75-71) Saturday night in the Chicago Invitational Challenge.
• Maryland leads the all-time series, 3-2. The Terps captured the last meeting between the two schools, a 76-63 victory over the Illini in the 2001 ACC/Big 10 Challenge.

The Terps are 4-3 ACC-Big Ten Challenge games dating back to the inception in 1999-2000. Last year, Maryland knocked off Minnesota (83-66) in College Park.
• Maryland is 3-0 at home, 0-1 on the road and 1-2 at neutral sites.
• The Terps have played in 6 different venues in the Challenge, including the Comcast Center, Cole Field House, Bradley Arena, Conseco Fieldhouse, Baltimore Arena and Kohl Center.
• Three of Maryland's seven Challenge games (1-2) have been overtime affairs.
• The Terps have never lost consecutive Challenge games.
• The ACC was won each of the seven ACC-Big Ten Challenges to date.
• The ACC and Big Ten are the two winningest conferences in NCAA Tournament history.
• Since 1988, 34 of the 72 Final Four teams have been from the ACC and Big Ten.

As a team, Maryland holds 6 records in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Individually, Terp players account for two Challenge records:
• Maryland's 56 rebounds vs. Indiana in 2002 ranks first.
• Maryland's 25 assists vs. Iowa in 1999 ranks third.
• Maryland has the top single-game blocks performances in the Challenge: 12 vs. Indiana (2002). The Terps also recorded 10 vs. Wisconsin (2003) and 10 against Illinois (2001).
• Maryland ranks third with a .566 field goal percentage vs. Iowa in 1999.
• Ryan Randle ranks first with 16 rebounds vs. Indiana in 2002.
• Terence Morris shares the record for best field goal percentage (8-8 vs. Iowa in 1999).

Maryland rallied from a 15-point deficit in the first half to claim an 83-66 victory over Minnesota in last year's ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Five Terps scored in double figures as Maryland outscored the Golden Gophers, 47-24, in the second half. The Terrapins held Minnesota to 25 percent shooting in the second half. Travis Garrison led all scorers with 18 points, while Nik Caner-Medley added 16 points. D.J. Strawberry and Mike Jones each added 14 for Maryland, while Chris McCray added 11 in the win.

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 57-10 (.848) all-time in November under Gary Williams.

Maryland has opened the season 7-0 for the first time since 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 83.1 points per game this season and allowing just 62.1.
• Maryland has trailed for just 2:12 of 280:00 this season.
• Maryland has limited its opponents to 35 percent shooting from the field. The Terps have held their opponents to just 24 percent (39-of-161) from three-point range.

Four Terrapins are rapidly climbing the school's all-time record book. Seniors D.J. Strawberry, Ekene Ibekwe, and Mike Jones have all made their mark in the Terrapin annals, along with junior James Gist:
• Strawberry ranks 11th in school history with 151 career steals. He was named Honorable Mention All-ACC Defensive Team in 2005-06.
• Ibekwe sits in seventh place on the school's all-time blocked shots list. The Carson, Calif., native has 159 career rejections at Maryland and has averaged 1.7 blocked shots per game.
• With six rebounds against High Point, Ibekwe moved into 29th place on the school's all-time rebounding list. The senior forward has 576 career rebounds.
• Senior Mike Jones has distinguished himself as one of the best shooters in the ACC and has rapidly moved up the school's all-time three pointers list. Jones has totaled 135 three-point field goals and sits in seventh place on the school's all-time list. Jones has hoisted 350 shots from beyond the arc, which is the seventh highest total in school history.
• Gist has totaled 99 blocked shots during his three seasons in College Park. He is 12th on the school's all-time list and has averaged 1.4 blocks per game.

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 259 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 544-of-551 games.
• Since the rule was instituted in 1987, Maryland has hit at least one three-pointer in 602-of-611 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).

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.

• Maryland has hit at least one 3-pointer in 259 consecutive games.
• Maryland has won 22 of its last 25 home games at Comcast Center, including 11 straight to open the 2005-06 season. The Terps were 14-3 at Comcast in 2005-06. Maryland is 5-0 at home this season.
• The Terps have won 38 of 40 non-conference games since moving into Comcast Center.
• Maryland has won 19-or-more games in 10 straight seasons.
• The Terps have made 13 consecutive postseason appearances.