Feb. 3, 2006
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Maryland (No. 23 ESPN/USA Today) continues a stretch of three games in six days when it travels to Raleigh to take on No. 17/18 NC State Sunday at 2 p.m. on FSN. It is also the third road game in the last four outings for the Terps, who are 4-1 at the RBC Center in their last five trips.
Maryland is coming off a 77-62 loss to North Carolina Thursday night at Comcast Center, while NC State held on to defeat Virginia, 66-64, Wednesday night in Raleigh.
The Terps will be led by senior forward Nik Caner-Medley (15.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg), who has averaged 25.3 points and 8.0 rebounds the last four games. Junior point guard D.J. Strawberry (10.0 ppg, 4.3 apg) directs the Maryland attack, while junior forward Ekene Ibekwe (11.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.2 bpg) and sophomore center James Gist (8.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.3 bpg) man the paint. Junior shooting guard Mike Jones (8.8 ppg), who is averaging 14.7 points and 5.0 rebounds the last three games, rounds out the Terps' starting five.
NC State (17-4, 6-2 ACC) has four players scoring in double figures led by senior guard Cameron Bennerman (12.9 ppg) and sophomore center Cedric Simmons (12.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg). Senior forward Llian Evtimov is averaging 11.4 points per game, while junior guard Engin Atsur is averaging 11.0 ppg. The Wolfpack leads the ACC in field goal percentage defense (.394).
Maryland Notables...
Head coach Gary Williams has reached another career milestone. With 348 career wins at Maryland, Williams has tied Charles "Lefty" Driesell (1969-86) as the Terps' all-time winningest basketball coach. He is just one victory shy of claiming sole possession of first place on the Maryland all-time wins list. Williams also has 143 career ACC victories, which ranks third on the ACC career wins list.
Maryland trails the all-time series with North Carolina State, 71-67, but the Terps have won 10 of the last 14 meetings and 25 of the last 32 games. Maryland is 4-1 in its last five games at the RBC Center and 9-2 in its last 11 trips to Raleigh. The Terps, who were swept by NC State last season, have not lost back-to-back games in Raleigh since 1991-92. Maryland and NC State are meeting for the sixth time on Super Bowl Sunday. (more series info on page 3)
Nik Caner-Medley has led the Terps in scoring in eight of the last 11 contests (19.2 ppg)...Mike Jones has hit 14-25 (56.0%) 3-pointers the last five games...James Gist has scored in double figures in four of the last five games and is shooting 56.0% from the field the last eight contests...Will Bowers, who made his first start of the season vs. North Carolina, has played improved post defense the last three games.
Head coach Gary Williams is the 11th-winningest active coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball with an overall record of 555-312 (.640). He ranks second among active ACC coaches with 348 wins at Maryland (4th overall) and also ranks second (3rd overall) among active league coaches with 143 ACC victories.
