March 16, 2006
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
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Maryland (19-12, 8-8 ACC) looks for its fourth win in its last five games when the top-seeded Terps host ninth-seeded Manhattan in the first round of the 69th Annual National Invitational Tournament Saturday at 11 a.m. on ESPN (Bob Wischusen, play-by-play; Hubert Davis, color). Maryland is also looking for its ninth 20-win season in the last 10 years and its 30th consecutive home win against a non-conference opponent.
The Terps are the No. 1 seed in the East Region. The winner of Saturday's game advances to play Old Dominion in second-round action on Monday.
Maryland is led by senior forward Nik Caner-Medley (15.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg), who averaged 16.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in ACC play and recently earned Third-team All-ACC honors. Junior point guard D.J. Strawberry (10.3 ppg, 4.0 apg, 1.8 spg) directs the Maryland attack, while junior forward Ekene Ibekwe (10.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.3 bpg) and sophomore center James Gist (8.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.5 bpg) man the paint. Junior guard Mike Jones (10.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg), who is averaging 13.9 points the last 14 games as a starter, rounds out the Terps' starting five.
Manhattan (19-10, 14-4 MAAC) downed NEC regular-season champion Fairleigh Dickinson, 80-77, in the NIT opening round on Tuesday night. The Jaspers won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season title before being upset in their conference tournament.
Maryland Notables...
Maryland's schedule is ranked as the 11th toughest in the country in the latest RPI Report, third only to Duke and North Carolina in the ACC. The Terps' RPI (47) also ranks fourth in the ACC, which is the third-ranked conference in the latest RPI. Maryland has played seven games against teams currently ranked in the top 25, including No. 1 Duke, No. 5 Gonzaga and No. 7 Boston College, while seven of the Terps' 12 losses have been to top-12 teams. Nine of the Terps' losses have come against teams in the top 35 of the latest RPI Report.
Maryland is 1-0 all-time vs. Manhattan. The teams met in the third-place game of the 1958 NCAA East Regionals in Charlotte, N.C. The Terps downed the Jaspers, 59-55. Head coach Gary Williams has never coached against Manhattan.
Head coach Gary Williams is the 11th-winningest active coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball with an overall record of 560-318 (.638). He ranks second among active ACC coaches with 353 wins at Maryland (4th overall) and also ranks second among active league coaches (3rd overall) with 147 ACC victories. Williams is the Terps' all-time winningest coach.
