Jan. 29, 2007

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Maryland begins a two-game road swing in the Atlantic Coast Conference, as the Terrapins travel to face the Florida State Seminoles on Tuesday (Jan. 30). Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. at the Donald L. Tucker Center. The game can be heard on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network and will be televised by the Raycom/Lincoln Financial Network.
• The Terps carry a mark of 16-5 (2-4 ACC) into the contest, while Florida State is 15-6 (3-4 ACC). The Terrapins downed Georgia Tech, 80-65, in their last outing on January 24. Florida State scored a 74-66 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday (Jan. 27).
• Maryland senior D.J. Strawberry leads the Terps with 15.2 points per game. He is 13th in the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring. Senior forward Al Thornton leads the Seminoles with 18.2 points per game. He is the fourth leading scorer in the ACC. Sophomore Toney Douglas averages 13.4 points for FSU and is ninth in the ACC in field goal percentage (.502).
• Tuesday's game marks the 33rd meeting between the two schools. Maryland leads the all-time series 24-8. The Terrapins have won seven of the last ten meetings between the two schools. Florida State captured the only meeting during the 2005-06 season.

Maryland has displayed a balanced offensive attack this season. The Terps boast the fourth-highest scoring average in the league (80.7 ppg), and have four players averaging double figures.
• Strawberry leads the team with 15.2 points per game. Mike Jones is averaging 13.4 points per game, while James Gist has tallied 12.1 points per game. Ekene Ibekwe is averaging 10.9 points.
• Jones and Strawberry have each led the team in scoring eight times this season. Ibekwe has led the Terps in the scoring column in four games this season.
• Maryland has outscored its opponents by an average of 14.7 points per game this season. That is the second best scoring margin in the ACC behind North Carolina (22.1).

Four Terrapins scored in double figures as Maryland cruised past Georgia Tech, 80-65 Wednesday (Jan. 25) at Comcast Center. Junior forward James Gist scored a career-high 26 points for Maryland. Gist finished the game 10-of-11 from the field and added three rebounds and one block in 23 minutes against the Yellowjackets.
• Freshman Eric Hayes scored a season high 12 points in the win. Hayes added a personal-best seven assists and grabbed five rebounds while recording three steals in the victory.
• D.J. Strawberry scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting. The senior swingman knocked down 2-of-5 three-point attempts and grabbed three rebounds in 26 minutes.
• Junior Bambale Osby scored 10 points in 11 minutes off the bench. Osby went 3-of-4 from the field and 4-of-8 from the free throw line. He added four rebounds in a solid outing for the Terps.
• The Terps shot 50 percent (25-of-50) from the field and limited the Yellowjackets to six percent shooting (1-of-17) from three-point range. Maryland forced Georgia Tech into 19 turnovers.

The Terps have made a renewed commitment to defense in 2006-07. Maryland has forced its opponents into an average of 18.2 turnovers per game this season.
• The Terps are yielding just 30.4 points in the first half and limiting the opposition to 37 percent shooting from the field. Maryland's opponents are shooting just 28 percent (116-of-414) from three-point range.
• The Terps are averaging 8.1 steals per game and have recorded 161 blocked shots through 21 games.
• Maryland is tops in the ACC and second in the nation with 7.7 blocked shots per game.

The 2006-07 Terrapins have made their mark on the school's record book in a variety of categories:
• The Terps set school records for most three pointers (17) and three point attempts (37) against UMKC on December 13.
• Maryland's 54 free throw attempts against Hampton was the fourth highest mark in school history. The Terps connected on 39 free throws in that game, which was the fourth best mark in school annals.
• The Terrapins 101-50 victory over UMKC was the 17th largest margin of victory for Maryland.

Seniors Ekene Ibekwe and Mike Jones are on the cusp of joining elite company at the University of Maryland:
• Jones enters Tuesday's game at Flordia State with 993 career points and needs just seven to reach the 1,000-point plateau. A total of 42 Terrapins have reached the prestigious milestone.
• Ibekwe enters Tuesday's game with 981 career points. With his 684 career rebounds, Ibekwe is looking to become just the 21st Terrapin to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career. With 204 blocks to his credit he is on the verge of becoming just the fourth Terp to tally 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 blocked shots, joining Lonny Baxter (1999-02), Terence Morris (1998-01) and Derrick Lewis (1985-88).
• Ibekwe's 204 career blocked shots makes him just the 21st player in ACC history to reach the 200-blocks plateau.

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 seventh in school history with 184 career steals. He was named Honorable Mention All-ACC Defensive Team in 2005-06.
• Ibekwe sits in fifth place on the school's all-time blocked shots list. The Carson, Calif., native has 204 career rejections at Maryland and has averaged 1.8 blocked shots per game.
• With nine rebounds against Georgia Tech, Ibekwe moved into 16th place on the school's all-time rebounding list. The senior forward has 684 career rebounds.
• Ibekwe has attempted 438 career free throws and ranks 14th all-time at Maryland.
• 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 177 three-point field goals, which is fourth on the school's all-time list. Jones has hoisted 437 shots from beyond the arc, which is the fifth highest total in school history.
• Gist has totaled 133 blocked shots during his three seasons in College Park. He is ninth on the school's all-time list and has averaged 1.5 blocks per game.

Freshmen Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes have each tallied 84 assists this season and are well on their way to recording one of the top assist totals among freshman point guards at Maryland. They both need just four more helpers to pass Exree Hipp for eighth on the school's all-time assist totals among freshmen.
• Steve Blake (2000-03) owns the school record with 217 assists as a freshman in 2000.

Maryland is in its 54th season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Terps were a charter member of the conference in 1953-54 after 30 years as a member of the Southern Conference.
• The Terps are 382-374 (.507) all-time in ACC games.
• Maryland is 240-140 (.631) in ACC home games.
• Maryland is 142-234 (.381) in ACC away games.
• Under Gary Williams, Maryland is 149-126 (.546) in ACC play.
• Maryland is 92-45 (.672) at home in ACC games under Williams, including a 23-11 (.676) mark at the Comcast Center.
• The Terps have captured three ACC Tournament Championships: 1958,1984 and 2004.