Nov. 25, 2008
Maryland (3-0) heads to Orlando and Disney's Wide World of Sports as one of eight teams in the prestigious Old Spice Classic over Thanksgiving weekend... The Terrapins are one of seven teams in the field that appeared in the postseason a year ago.
* The Terrapins open play on Thursday evening against Michigan State (2-0), which is ranked 5th in this week's Associated Press poll and 6th in the ESPN / USA Today rankings... The Spartans will have had an eight-day hiatus after beating IPFW, 70-59, on Nov. 19.
* Maryland junior guard Greivis Vasquez was named Monday the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week after averaging 27.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals in wins over Youngstown State and Vermont... It was the second time in his career Vasquez has received the ACC's weekly honor.
* Vasquez is close to becoming the 47th Maryland player in school history to reach 1,000 points in his career... He needs 22 points to reach the plateau... The 6-foot-6 guard from Caracas, Venezuela, enters the Old Spice Classic leading the Terps in scoring (22.3 avg), rebounds (7.7), assists (5.0), steals (2.7) and minutes (33.7).
* Maryland head coach Gary Williams picked up his 400th victory at Maryland last Friday against Vermont (11/21)... The milestone came in dramatic fashion, as Vasquez buried a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left to force overtime... The Terps scored the first 17 points of the extra period, earning the most lopsided OT victory in school history with a 17-2 edge in the extra session... Williams picked up the victory over former assistant Mike Lonergan, now in his 4th season as head coach at Vermont.
Noting the Spartans
Michigan State is 2-0 coming into the Old Spice Classic, owning victories over Idaho (100-62) and at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (70-59)... The Spartans will have had eight days to prepare for the Terps after last playing on 11/19...
Junior forward Raymar Morgan is the leading scorer for the Spartans, averaging 21.5 points per game on outstanding .737 shooting from the floor (14-for-19)...
Kalin Lucas, a sophomore guard, averages 15.0 points and a team-high 6.0 assists per game, with Chris Allen, another sophomore guard, at 14.0 points per game and a team-high four 3-pointers...
Goran Suton, a fifth-year senior center, leads MSU on the boards thus far with 6.0 rebounds per game... The Spartans are hitting .513 from the floor in their opening two outings.
Gary Williams' 20th Season
Head coach Gary Williams reaches another in a career filled with milestones when he coaches his alma mater for the 20th season in 2008-09...
He is the 6th-winningest active head coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball with an overall record of 607-343 (.639)... He ranks second among active ACC coaches with 400 wins at Maryland (3rd overall) and also ranks second among active league coaches with 165 ACC victories. Williams is the Terps' all-time winningest coach...
He earned his 400th victory at his alma mater on 11/21 with an overtime win over Vermont... His 397 wins in 19 years at the beginning of the season were an average of 20.9 wins per season with the Terps...
Maryland's 70-65 victory over Boston College (2/6/2008) gave Williams his 600th career victory... Only five other active head coaches in Division I have 600 career wins.
Milestones, Streaks, etc.
Maryland has hit at least one 3-pointer in 323 consecutive games.
The Terps have won 56 of 60 non-conference games since moving into Comcast Center.
Maryland has won at least 19 games in 12 straight seasons.
The Terps have made 15 consecutive postseason appearances.
Maryland's last losing season came in 1992-93, the last season of devastating NCAA sanctions levied against previous staffs at Maryland... Each school in the ACC has had a losing season since the Terps fell below .500 some 15 seasons ago... In fact, 9 of the 11 ACC opponents have suffered through a losing season since the Terps won the NCAA title in 2002... Duke and UNC are the exceptions.
Between 2004-05 and 2007-08, Maryland won 82 games, an average of 20.5 per season... That matches the number of wins that Gary Williams directed during the first four seasons (1994-97) of Maryland's run of 11 straight titles.
Tri-Captains
Maryland will have three captains repesenting the team in a leadership role in 2008-09. Senior Dave Neal will accept the role, along with juniors Greivis Vasquez and Landon Milbourne.
Looking Ahead
Maryland will spend its Thanksgiving weekend with Disney as the Terrapins travel to Orlando, Fla., to play in the Old Spice Classic... Seven of the eight teams in the field played in the postseason a year ago... Maryland opens play on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Michigan State, currently ranked fifth in the Associated Press poll... The Terps would play a second-round matchup against either No. 9 Gonzaga or Oklahoma State on Friday before finishing the tournament on Sunday... The Terps head to Orlando after practice on Tuesday.
Maryland's next home game is on Dec. 3 against Michigan in the ACC / Big 10 Challenge... All six December games are in the Washington, D.C., area, as the Terps' only appearance away from Comcast Center will come at the Verizon Center in a BB&T Classic matchup against George Washington on Dec. 7...
The Terps have a seven-game homestand between December 12 and January 10, with the final game in that stretch being a Comcast Center matchup with Georgia Tech that serves as the ACC opener.
Maryland Among ACC's Best Last Ten Years
Maryland has been one of the top programs in the ACC over the past 10 seasons.
With 100 wins since 1999, Maryland is third among all ACC schools in regular-season wins.
Head coach Gary Williams ranks second among active ACC coaches with 165 career wins in league play.
The Terps captured the 2002 ACC regular-season title & the 2004 ACC Tourney championship.
Maryland vs. Ranked Teams Under Gary Williams
Since Gary Williams took over in 1989-90, Maryland has 67 wins over Top 25 teams, including one during 2007-08.
Williams is the nation's winningest active coach vs. top-ranked teams with seven career victories over a No. 1 opponent (6 at Maryland; 1 at Ohio State).
Under Williams, Maryland has defeated 18 top-5 opponents, 30 top-10 opponents and the No. 1 team seven times.
Maryland has 15 wins over top-10 teams the last six years, including an 82-80 victory over then-No. 1 North Carolina last season (1/19/08).
The Terps have defeated at least one top-10 opponent in 15 of 19 seasons under Williams, including 12 straight years.
Williams has led the Terps to victories over No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 ranked teams in seven of the last nine seasons.
Commitment To Education
Sophomore forward Jerome Burney is once again the recipient of the LeFrak Scholarship Award for the men's basketball program. The scholarship represents an endowment established by the Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak Foundation, and is awarded annually to three Maryland student-athletes who exhibit extraordinary athletic, leadership, and scholarship abilities in football, men's basketball and men's track and field...
Senior Dave Neal is on track to graduate in May with a degree in criminal justice and a minor in leadership studies... James Gist, Bambale Osby and Jason McAlpin were 2007-08 seniors who earned their degrees as Terrapin basketball players.
"The Proving Ground" Breaks Ground on Comcast SportsNet
A one-hour special on this year's Maryland Men's Basketball team will premiere on Comcast SportsNet on November 21 at 7:00 pm. The show debuts just before the Terrapins take on Vermont at 8:00 p.m. live on Comcast SportsNet.
The show, titled "The Proving Ground: The 2008-09 Maryland Men's Basketball Team," chronicles head coach Gary Williams and his young team from Maryland Madness through the start of the regular season. "The Proving Ground" gives fans their first-ever look behind the scenes, during practice, in the weight room and during some of the lighter moments of the team preparation for the 2008-09 season.
"We are excited about this show," said Brian Ullmann, senior associate athletics director for external operations. "Terps fans are going to love this all-access look at Coach Williams and this exciting young team."
"The Proving Ground" will be rebroadcast throughout November and December. The program will also be available on-demand for Comcast cable subscribers.
Airdates and times follow:
Nov. 21 7:00 p.m.
Nov. 23 9:00 p.m.
Nov. 27 9:00 p.m.
Nov. 30 9:00 p.m.
Dec. 12 7:00 p.m.
Dec. 25 4:00 p.m.
