Jan. 13, 2009
MIAMI, Fla. -
Maryland plays its first game of the 2008-09 season at the home arena of its opponent on Wednesday night in a matchup with Miami. The game is the first in a two-game Florida swing, with the Terrapins staying south for a Saturday afternooon matchup at Florida State at noon.
* The Terrapins won their Atlantic Coast Conference opener on Wednesday night, recovering from a 10-point deficit to beat Georgia Tech, 68-61, at Comcast Center. The game was the last in a seven-game, month-long homestand for the Terps.
* Maryland is 8-1 in its last 9 games, and is only one point away from a 9-game winning streak. The lone loss in that stretch is a 66-65 loss to Morgan State on a night when the Terrapins went 1-for-14 from 3-point range and committed a season-high 21 turnovers. The previous losses this season by the Terps came at the Old Spice Classic to Gonzaga, ranked 9th in the nation at the time of the game, and to Georgetown, currently ranked 12th. Maryland owns victories over highly-regarded Michigan State, 7th in this weeks AP poll, and Michigan, which is 24th in the coaches poll.
* Junior guard Greivis Vasquez moved into 1st place in NCAA Division I this week in free-throw percentage. Vasquez, who has hit his last 35 free throws, is hitting .940 from the line. His last miss at the stripe came late in the game on 12/3 against Michigan... Maryland is 3rd in the nation in team free-throw percentage, coming into tonight's game at .791.
* 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:
Five Terrapin opponents for 2008-09 are currently ranked in the Top 10 in the ESPN/USA Today poll (#2 Duke, #3 Wake Forest, #6 North Carolina, #9 Clemson, #10 Michigan State).
Seven Terrapin opponents for 2008-09 are currently ranked among the Top 25 teams in the coaches poll (previous five along with #12 Georgetown and #24 Michigan).
11 Terrapin opponents for 2008-09 are either ranked or are receiving votes in the Associated Press poll, including Miami.
* Maryland entered the week 3rd in the nation in free-throw percentage, hitting .791 as a team... The Terrapins hold a comfortable lead in the ACC in that category, with Duke in second place at .738... Of the seven Terps who have made at least 10 foul shots this year, six of those are hitting 74 percent or better at the line this season... Maryland has out-scored opponents at the line in 13 of 15 games this season (12-1 in those games)... Assistant Coach Rob Ehsan's alma mater, UC Davis, led the nation with an .817 percentage as of games through last Sunday... Maryland's school-record for team FT percentage for a season is .758, set in 1976.
* Miami has improved its record to 12-3 and is on a 5-game winning streak... The Hurricanes are now 1-1 in the league after getting a 77-71 victory at Boston College on Saturday. Miami put five players in double figures, led by Dwayne Collins and Brian Asbury with 13 points each...
* Jack McClinton is Miami's leading scorer, averaging 16.9 points per game.... He has 40 3-point field goals in 15 games and also leads with 46 assists... Collins is the other Hurricane averaging in double figures, scoring at a 12.1 ppg clip and is shooting .611 from the floor... He is also Miami's leading rebounder, averaging 7.8 boards per game...
* Miami lost at home to Clemson on Dec. 21 in its conference opener, but since has won at St. John's, at home over North Florida, North Carolina Central and Florida Atlantic before winning at Boston College on Saturday.
Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams - January 13 Quotes
On his team playing on the road at Miami on Wednesday:
"If you're a basketball player, you like the competition and you like going on the road and playing. I've always liked it because it's just about you. It's the people in the locker room who are going to win that game. You can't depend on anything else to win the game, and we're looking forward to it."
On the resiliency his team demonstrated during its win over Georgia Tech:
"We talk all year about finding a way to win a game, and we found a way with our pressure in the second half and Eric Hayes making some shots. Maybe it has to be different against Miami to win this game, but Saturday that's what we had to do to win. We weren't shooting the ball well, and we made up for it with our level of pressure defense forcing 28 turnovers, and our ability to finally make some shots at the end of the game."
On guard Eric Hayes:
"I think Eric is a proven player in the ACC. He's done enough good things that he should have confidence this year going into league play as a junior. He was aggressive in the second half [against Georgia Tech]. He was aggressive not just in making those shots, but with the basketball. I think when he's aggressive, like most players, he's a much better offensive player...He's really been around and he knows every place we go. He's a very important player for us this year since we only have Dave Neal as a senior."
On the personality differences between guards Eric Hayes and Greivis Vasquez:
"I think it's good. They are different personalities, there's no doubt about it. Eric is very laidback, and Greivis is typical Type A [personality]. They're roommates, and that's interesting. That's what a team is - you get different personalities and different guys bring different things to the team. We need what both those guys give us without a doubt. I think they know each other really well from playing together this long and spending a lot of time together. They can really react to each other very well."
On how he characterizes his team's attitude after playing 15 games:
"I think we've scrapped our way at this point to 12-3 with 15 league games left. Certainly it's a challenge, but we're not afraid of anyone. We'll go play and see what happens. I like our attitude. I think Saturday was a pretty good indication of our team and the way we fight. We could've quit when we were 10 down in the second half. It didn't look good, and nobody could make a shot. We found a way to stop the, put the ball in the basket and win the game."
On guard Sean Mosley:
"He's done really well. The thing with Sean is he's a quick learner. I think that really helps him. You tell Sean something, and he'll try to do it. I like his energy. When you have guys like Sean and Greivis (Vasquez) on the court, you have a lot of energy on your team."
On what concerns him about playing the Hurricanes:
"The fact that they can get you from the 3-point line, like with (Jack) McLinton, for example. And (Dwayne) Collins is such a dominant inside player. A lot of teams, if they shoot threes well, you can take care of that maybe with your defense or if they just throw the ball into the post, you can take care of that. But you have to watch how much help you give in the post [against Miami] or else you open up some guys for threes. Collins is a tough guy to defend one-on-one. He's done it against a lot of teams. He's a veteran player, and he really knows how to get position in there. It's a challenge, but that's why they're good. They have a lot of ways to score."
