Feb. 21, 2006
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
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Maryland (16-9, 6-6 ACC) looks for its seventh conference win when it travels to Tallahassee to take on the upstart Florida State Seminoles Wednesday at 9 p.m. It's the first of three road games in the final four contests for the Terps, who play at No. 21 North Carolina on Sunday.
Maryland is coming off a thrilling, 87-84, overtime win over Georgia Tech on Saturday at Comcast Center. Mike Jones paced the Terps with 21 points (8-10 FG), while Ekene Ibekwe (14 pts, 10 rebs.) and James Gist (12 pts, 12 rebs.) each provided double-doubles. The Terps shot 55.8% from the floor and limited the Yellow Jackets to just 6-of-21 shooting from 3-point range.
The Terps are led by Nik Caner-Medley (15.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg), who is averaging 16.4 points and 7.1 rebounds in ACC play. Junior point guard D.J. Strawberry (10.7 ppg, 4.0 apg) directs the Maryland attack, while junior forward Ekene Ibekwe (11.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and sophomore center James Gist (8.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.4 bpg) man the paint. Junior shooting guard Mike Jones (10.2 ppg), who is averaging 15.4 points the last eight games as a starter, rounds out the Terps' starting five.
Florida State (16-7, 6-6 ACC) enters the game having won three of its last four contests following a 76-62 win over Virginia Saturday in Tallahassee. The Seminoles hit 11 3-pointers in the victory, including seven by senior forward Andrew Wilson, who finished with a game-high 21 points. Junior guard Al Thornton leads FSU in scoring with 16.1 ppg, while junior forward Alexander Johnson is averaging 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest. Johnson has five double-doubles in his last seven games.
Maryland Notables...
The Terps have shot a combined 58.5% (31-53) from the floor in the first half of the last two games...Maryland is 14-1 when making more free throws than its opponent...James Gist has averaged 10.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks the last six games...Nik Caner-Medley has averaged 19.1 points and 7.6 rebounds the last 10 games...Mike Jones has averaged 20.5 points the last two games while shooting 70.0% (14-20) from the field...Ekene Ibekwe has averaged 11.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks the last four games...D.J. Strawberry has averaged 13.5 points the last six games...Gist and Ibekwe have each averaged a double-double in the Terps' last two wins, combining for 26.5 points and 23.5 rebounds.
Maryland leads the all-time series with FSU, 23-7, dating back to the first meeting in 1992. The Terps have won two straight over the Seminoles and 17 of the last 19 contests. Maryland is 9-4 against the 'Noles in Tallahassee and has won six of the last seven meetings at FSU.
Head coach Gary Williams is the 11th-winningest active coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball with an overall record of 557-315 (.639). He ranks second among active ACC coaches with 350 wins at Maryland (4th overall) and also ranks second among active league coaches (3rd overall) with 145 ACC victories. Williams is the Terps' all-time winningest coach.
