Terrapins Face Holy Cross Tuesday Night
1/7/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2008
The University of Maryland (9-6, 0-1 ACC) hosts Holy Cross (9-3) Tuesday
(January 8) at Comcast Center. Tipoff between the Terps and Crusaders is set for 8:00 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network and will be televised on Comcast SportsNet+.
• Tuesday's game is the fifth meeting between the two schools. Maryland leads the all-time series, 4-0, dating back to the first meeting between the two schools on December 21, 1971.
• The two teams have not met since the Terrapins recorded a 99-75 victory at Cole Field House on January 21, 1985.
Maryland has utilized a balanced offensive attack this season as four Terps average double figures in scoring. Greivis Vasquez leads the team with 16.9 points per game, while senior James Gist has averaged 14.1 points per contest. Sophomore Eric Hayes is averaging 11.0 points and senior Bambale Osby has added 10.9 points per game.
• All four players have increased their scoring average from last season. They average 52.9 of Maryland's 71.8 points per game.
Head coach Gary Williams is the eighth-winningest active head coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball with an overall record of 594-334 (.640). He ranks second among active ACC coaches with 387 wins at Maryland (3rd overall) and also ranks second among active league coaches with 157 ACC victories. Williams is the Terps' all-time winningest coach.
• Williams is just six wins shy of 600 career victories. Only six active head coaches in Division I have 600 career wins.
Defense has been a constant for the Terrapins this season. Maryland leads the ACC and is 12th in the nation in field goal percentage defense, as the Terrapins have limited their opponents to just 37 percent shooting from the field.
• Maryland leads the league and is seventh in the country in blocked shots. The Terps average 7.00 blocked shots per game. James Gist is second in the league with 2.43 blocks per game, while fellow senior Bambale Osby is third in the ACC with 2.21 blocks per contest.
The University of Maryland men's basketball program was ranked among Forbes magazine's top 20 most valuable college basketball programs in an article released January 2nd. The index measured teams based on their contribution to four beneficiaries; their university, athletic department, conference and local communities.
• The Terps ranked 17th out of 20 teams with a value of $13.1 million.
• Maryland was just one of two schools on the top-20 list that are from major metropolitan areas, joining UCLA (14th).
Maryland has been a dominant home team over the years.
• The Terps are 786-279 (.738) all-time at home dating back to 1923-24.
• Maryland went 17-2 (89.5%) at home last season and is 80-17 (.822) all-time at Comcast Center. The Terps have won 41 of their last 48 at home dating back to 2003-04.
• The Terps are 235-52 (.821) at home under Gary Williams (155-35 at Cole Field House).
• Maryland is 133-22 (.871) at home the last 10 seasons (since 1998-99).
• Maryland has won 46 of its last 49 regular season non-conference games at Comcast Center under Williams.
• The Terps are 133-4 (.970) in regular season non-conference home games under Williams.
• Maryland was 476-151 in 47 seasons at Cole Field House; 169-90 in 24 seasons at Ritchie Coliseum and 61-21 in eight seasons at The Gymnasium.
Senior James Gist has joined elite company in the storied history of Maryland Basketball:
• With 18 points against Morgan State (Dec. 6), Gist became the 46th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.
• His scoring average has increased each season, as he is averaging a career-best 14.1 points per game this year.
• With his 629 career rebounds, Gist is just the 22nd player in school history to tally 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
• Gist is seventh on Maryland's all-time blocked shots list with 188 rejections.
• He has scored in double figures in 10 games this year and has four double-doubles (Hampton, Boston College, Delaware and Charlotte).
• The Silver Spring native was named a preseason Wooden Award candidate.
Sophomore guard Greivis Vasquez enjoyed a breakout season as a freshman in 2006-07 and has improved in 2007-08:
• Vasquez averages a team-high 16.9 points per game. As a freshman he scored 9.8 points per game.
• He set a new career high with 28 points against American University.
• Vasquez has scored in double figures in 13 of 15 games this season and has led the team in scoring 10 times.
• He leads the team with 91 assists and has dished out at least five assists in nine games this year. He has recorded 10 or more assists three times (Northeastern, Illinois and Morgan State).
• Vasquez has led the team in assists in seven games this year.
• Vasquez has improved his rebounding from 3.3 per game as a freshman to 5.1 this season.
• He is averaging a team-high 35.9 minutes per game.
• Vasquez spent the summer as a member of the Venezuelan National team which competed in the FIBA Americas Championships in Las Vegas during August.
• Named to the 2008 Cousy Award Preseason List.
Sophomore guard Eric Hayes has built on an impressive freshman season and has continued his development for the Terrapins:
• Hayes has scored in double figures in nine of Maryland's 15 games this season.
• He is second on the team with 81 assists and leads the squad with 23 steals.
• Hayes is second in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.61).
• He scored a then-career high 18 points against Illinois before pouring in 19 points against Morgan State.
• He is leads the team in free throw shooting. Hayes has connected on 84 percent (27 of 32) of his attempts from the foul line.
Senior Bambale Osby has made a big impact for the Terps at both ends of the floor this season:
• Osby is averaging 10.9 points per game this year after averaging just 5.8 points as a junior.
• He has scored in double figures 10 times this season after only breaking double figures in eight games last year.
• Osby is second on the team with 31 blocked shots. He tallied just 16 blocks as a junior in 2006-07.
• Osby has increased his production on the glass as he is averaging 5.9 rebounds per contest after pulling down 3.9 board per game last year.
After playing in just 16 of 34 games as a freshman, Landon Milbourne spent the summer in College Park working on his game and the results have followed:
• Milbourne is averaging 7.1 points per game this season after averaging 1.0 as a freshman. His rebounding has jumped from 0.8 to 4.1 per game.
• He has scored in double figures in five of the last eight games and tied his career high with 11 points in three consecutve games (Morgan State, Boston College, Ohio).
• Milbourne has made his mark on defense as well, as he is third on the team with 10 blocked shots and has added eight steals for the season.
Maryland's roster is dominated by underclassmen, as 10 of the 14 Terps are freshmen or sophomores. The underclassmen account for 58 percent of Maryland's scoring, 57 percent of the rebounding and 89 percent of the team's assists.
