Feb. 6, 2009

ATLANTA, Ga. - Maryland opens the second half of its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule with a rematch of its league-opening opponent in Georgia Tech. The game is a nationally televised matchup on the Fox SportsNet Sunday Night Hoops package. The Terps are 14-8 overall and 3-5 in the league after its 108-91 loss at No. 3/4 North Carolina on Tuesday. The Yellow Jackets are 10-11 overall and 1-7 in the ACC following a 62-58 loss at Florida State on Thursday evening.

* Maryland scored a season-high 91 points on Tuesday in Chapel Hill, placing five players in double figures. Freshman Sean Mosley led the Terrapins in scoring for the first time this season with 19 points, going 7-for-7 at the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Cliff Tucker added a career-high 18 points off the bench (8-14 FG). Maryland was even with the Tar Heels on the boards (39-39), but Carolina hit 16 3-pointers in earning its 20th win of the year.

* The Terrapins are seeking their first road win of the season on Sunday. Maryland has lost two league games by a combined five points, both in road losses at Miami (60-62) and Florida State (73-76, OT). Maryland is just 1.5 games behind a three-way tie for 5th in the league standings and sits a half-game behind Miami for 8th.

* Junior tri-captain Landon Milbourne leads the Terrapins in both scoring and rebounding in ACC games. The Roswell, Ga., native averages 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in 8 league outings, with 28 of his 51 rebounds coming on the offensive glass.

Noting the Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech has lost 6 of its last 7 games in a stretch that began with Maryland's 68-61 victory in College Park on 1/10... The Yellow Jackets' win in that stretch is a 76-74 home victory over nationally-ranked Wake Forest on 1/31...

Sophomore Gani Lawal is averaging a double-double this season, psoting 15.8 points and a league-leading 10.4 rebounds each game... He had 14 points and 10 boards in the prevous matchup with the Terps in Comcast Center...

Lawal is one of five Yellow Jackets currently averaging in double figures... Senior guard Lewis Clinch averages 12.6 points per game and has a team-high 27 3-pointers in his 14 games... He had 15 points in the January matchup at Comcast...

Senior forward Alade Aminu (14 points, 17 boards vs. Terps in 1/10) averages 12.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, giving the `Jackets two players among the top four rebounders in the league...

Freshman guard Iman Shumpert averages 11.4 points per game, with junior forward Zachery Peacock averaging 10.4 points per game...

Tech holds a 5.9 boards-per-game edge on its opponents this season.

Looking Ahead

Maryland plays three of its next four at Comcast Center, but will face teams residing among the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference in each of the next four... After its longest stretch off since Finals Week (6 days), Maryland will play a Valentine's Day matinee with Virginia Tech (T5th, ACC) at home at 4 p.m. on 2/14...

The Terrapins' next road game following the Atlanta trip will be at Clemson (3rd, ACC)... Then the two teams listed atop the current standings, North Carolina and Duke, make back-to-back appearances at Comcast Center on 2/21 and 2/25 for nationally-televised matchups... Both the UNC and Duke games are sold out.

Head Coach Gary Williams Quotes - Saturday, Feb. 7

On the changes Georgia Tech has made since the first time the teams met:
"The biggest change Georgia Tech has made is they've gone to a smaller lineup. Not that it's small, but it's a little smaller. They put (forward Zachery) Peacock up front with (center Gani) Lawal. With (guard Maurice) Miller being healthy, they've got him back on the court more, so they put him in the starting rotation along with (guard Iman) Shumpert and (guard Lewis) Clinch."

On Georgia Tech's recent games:
"They played very well against Wake Forest and they beat Wake. They played a tough game against Florida State. They could've won at Florida State, but they didn't get the win. I'm sure they'll be ready to play down there."

On Maryland's first game against Georgia Tech on Jan. 10:
"We did not play well and we did not do a lot of things well except force some turnovers that kept us in the game...At least we hung around when we weren't playing well. We had some good looks. It's like any team - if you get the shots that you want, then you have to make some of them. We didn't do a good job of that the first half, but any time you come back and win, it's a good win."

On the Yellow Jackets' propensity to play close games this season:
"If you look at Georgia Tech's scores, they've been in just about every game. They've been right there. Four or five points have determined a lot of their games."

On Maryland's performance in road games this season:
"I thought we played very well at Miami and Florida State and didn't get the wins. We've played well. Some years you win on the road and some years it's hard to win on the road. I think we've been as consistent as any team winning on the road. We haven't done it yet this year, so that's still ahead of us. Hopefully we'll play well Sunday."

On center Braxton Dupree's performance Tuesday at North Carolina:
"I thought he gave us some good minutes. He was more active. If you're 6-foot-9 and 250 [pounds] and active, you really help the team because you take up a lot of room. You compete for every rebound and you make it tougher on [opponents] to get second shots. That's what Braxton can give us right now, and it can really help us when he does give us that."