Dec. 2, 2008
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Maryland returns home from Thanksgiving Week at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., to face Michigan in a matchup of the 2008 ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It is one of 5 games in the series to be played on Wednesday night.
* The Terrapins come into tonight's game with a 4-2 record after coming home from the Old Spice Classic with a win over then-5th-ranked Michigan State. The Terps defeated the Spartans, 80-62, on Thanksgiving Night by placing four players in double figures, led by 17 points each from Greivis Vasquez and senior Dave Neal, who posted a career-high in that game.
* Maryland is 6-3 all-time in the previous nine ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchups, including a 4-0 mark in home games. The Terrapins have won three straight in the Challenge, including wins over Minnesota (83-66) in 2005, and Illinois in 2006 (72-66) and in 2007 (69-61). The ACC has won each of the nine ACC/Big Ten Challenges played to date, including an 8-3 advantage in each of the last two seasons.
* The win on Thanksgiving Night over 5th-ranked Michigan State was Maryland head coach Gary Williams' 19th over a Top-5 opponent in his 20 seasons directing the Terps... He owns 31 wins over Top-10 opponents, including 16 in the last 7 seasons... The Terps have defeated at least one Top-10 foe in 16 of Williams' 20 seasons, including now 13 straight years.
Noting the Wolverines
Michigan enters College Park with a 5-1 record this season and is riding a two-game winning streak... The Wolverines hit the national spotlight this season with a 55-52 victory over UCLA on Nov. 20 in Madison Square Garden...
Sophomore guard Manny Harris leads the Wolverines this season in scoring (22.3 ppg), rebounding (8.0 rpg), assists (4.2 apg) and steals (1.5 spg)... He's hitting .877 from the free-throw line and .528 from the field...
Junior forward DeShawn Sims is also pulling down 8.0 rebounds per game and is 2nd to Harris with a 15.2 ppg average, averaging 29.3 minutes per game off the bench...
Michigan has started the same lineup in all six games, including Harris, junior forward Zack Gibson, freshman guard Stu Douglass, sophomore forward Anthony Wright and senior guard David Merritt.
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 608-345 (.638)... He ranks 2nd among active ACC coaches with 401 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...
Williams picked up his 400th victory at Maryland 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.
Milestones, Streaks, etc.
Maryland has hit at least one 3-pointer in 326 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 NCAA Tournaments.
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
Following tonight's matchup against Michigan in the ACC / Big 10 Challenge, the Terrapins make their only December appearance away from Comcast Center on Sunday in the BB&T Classic against George Washington at Verizon Center... All six December games are in the Washington, D.C., area...
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 68 wins over Top-25 teams, including the 80-62 victory over 5th-ranked Michigan State on Thanksgiving Night.
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 19 Top-5 opponents, 31 Top-10 opponents and the No. 1 team seven times.
Maryland has 16 wins over Top-10 teams the last seven 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 16 of 20 seasons under Williams, including 13 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.
Tough Schedule
Between playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (currently ranked 1st as a league in the Sagarin Computer Ratings) and facing three ranked teams in the 2008 Old Spice Classic, the Maryland men's basketball schedule is formidable:
Three Terrapin opponents for 2008-09 are currently ranked in the Top 5 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls (#1 North Carolina, #4 Duke, #5 Gonzaga).
Seven Terrapin opponents for 2008-09 are currently ranked among the Top 21 teams in the AP poll (previous three along with #13 Michigan State, #15 Wake Forest, #20 Georgetown, #21 Miami.
11 Terrapin opponents for 2008-09 are either ranked or are receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll, including tonight's ACC/Big Ten Challenge opponent, Michigan.
Maryland is the lone ACC team that will face conference home-and-home series with #1 North Carolina and #4 Duke... The Terps will also play twice against #21 Miami.
Adept at The Line
Maryland currently leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in free throw percentage at .779... Among 8 Terrapins who have at least 6 FT attempts this year, 5 of those are shooting at least .800 from the line... That group is led by Grevis Vasquez, who is hitting at an .889 clip (24-for-27), currently 4th in the ACC individually... Eric Hayes has hit all 12 of his attempts at the line this season... Maryland's school-record for team FT percentage for a season is .758, set in 1976.
Fear the Turtle!
Maryland is one of the most consistent winning programs in the country following more than a decade of excellence:
Maryland's participation in the 2007-08 NIT marked the 15th straight year the Terrapins reached postseason play.
The Terps have averaged 23.0 wins per season the last 13 years, including eight consecutive 20-win seasons from 1996-2004.
Maryland has 15 straight postseason appearances, including 11 consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament from 1993-2004 - a feat only six schools had at the time.
The Terrapins have won at least two postseason games (ACC, NCAA, NIT) in eight of the last 10 seasons.
The Terps have advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 seven times in the last 14 years.
Maryland made consecutive trips to the NCAA Final Four in 2001 and 2002 .
The Terps captured the 2002 national championship.
The Terps captured the 2004 ACC TOURNAMENT Championship.
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.
