Game On! Terps Host UNC on Sunday

Feb. 6, 2010

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland returns from a two-game road trip to face defending national champion North Carolina at Comcast Center in a 2 p.m. nationally televised game on Fox Sports Net. The Terrapins are fresh from a hard-fought 71-67 victory at Florida State late Thursday evening. The win over the Seminoles brought the Terps to 15-6 overall and 5-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. At exactly the same time the Terrapins and Seminoles were playing, North Carolina dropped a 74-70 game at Virginia Tech, falling to 13-9 overall and 2-5 in the league.

The game will be aired nationally by Fox Sports Net, with Comcast SportsNet being the local affiliate.

The game can also be heard across the Terrapin Sports Radio Network, including Baltimore flagships WJZ-FM (105.7), WJZ-AM (1300). Pregame on the network begins at 1 p.m.

In Washington, D.C., the game will be heard on WJFK-FM (106.7). For a complete D.C. affiliate radio schedule please click on this link. Additionally, all game radio broadcasts can be heard on umterps.com by clicking the "TerpsTV" link.

The Terrapins are now in second place in the league, one game behind Duke. The Terrapins and Blue Devils are the only two teams in the league with two losses. Virginia fell out of a second-place tie with the Terps after losing in overtime at home to Wake Forest yesterday. Sunday's game marks the midway point in the league schedule for Maryland and UNC.

Maryland has won five of its last six games and seven of its last nine. The only losses in that stretch are road losses to Wake Forest, in overtime, and at Clemson. The Terrapins, who are 10-1 at Comcast Center this season, are 7-2 since Jan. 1, 2010.

Senior forward Landon Milbourne, who had 18 points in the win at Florida State on Thursday, needs just 11 points to become the 49th Terrapin in history to reach 1,000 career points. After averaging 1.0 points per game as a freshman, Milbourne has averaged 14.4 points this season as a senior. He has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 11 games.

The Terrapins were the only team in the nation to beat both North Carolina and Michigan State a year ago - the two teams that played in the 2009 NCAA national championship game. According to Stats, LLC, the Terps were the first team to beat both NCAA finalists in the same season since 2003-04, when UNC beat both Connecticut and Georgia Tech. Only three other teams topped both finalists in the same season in the past 12 years.

Maryland has won three of the last four games against the Tar Heels, including an 88-85 overtime victory at Comcast Center on Feb. 21, 2009, in which Greivis Vasquez posted his first career triple-double. He finished with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, becoming the only Terrapin to post a triple-double in points, rebounds and assists. Derrick Lewis accomplished that feat twice with points, rebounds and blocks in 1987.

Vasquez led Maryland in points (23), rebounds (7) and assists (7) against the Seminoles on Thursday. It was the last time a player had topped the Terps in those three categories in a game since Vasquez's triple-double against UNC last season. Vasquez needs 104 points to become the sixth Terrapin in history to reach 2,000 career points. He already is the only Terrapin ever to have 500 rebounds and 500 assists in his career.

Scouting the Tar Heels

North Carolina has dropped five of its last six games, with a victory at NC State on Jan. 26 being the only victory since Jan. 13. The Tar Heels come into the game with the Terps in an uncharacteristic 10th place in the league standings, prior to Saturday's play.

Sophomore center Ed Davis led the Tar Heels with 15 points and seven rebounds on Thursday against the Hokies. Freshman forward John Henson had 14 points off the bench (5-for-6 from the floor) and freshman forward David Wear added a dozen in a reserve role.

Davis currently leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in blocked shots with 2.7 per game and is second in the league in rebounding at 9.5 boards per game. He trails only Al-Farouq Aminu of Wake Forest on the boards. Davis is shooting better than 58 percent from the floor this season.

Senior forward Deon Thompson is Carolina's leading scorer, averaging 14.4 points per game. Davis is averaging 14.0 points per game.

Sunday's game features a matchup between the top two players in the league in assists, with UNC sophomore Larry Drew II leading the league at 6.2 helpers per game and Maryland's Vasquez just behind at 6.0 assists per game.

Players Mentioned

Landon Milbourne

Greivis Vasquez

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