Terps Head to Virginia Thursday
1/26/2011 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2011
Maryland (12-7, 2-3) at Virginia (11-8, 2-3)
Thursday, January 27, 2011 • 7 p.m. ET
Game #20 • Road Game #5 • Charlottesville, Va. • John Paul Jones Arena
Television: Comcast SportsNet - Michael Reghi, Ron Thompson, Junior Burrough, Russ Thaler.
Radio: Terrapin Sports Radio Network - Johnny Holliday (Play-by-Play), and Chris Knoche (Analyst) have the call. The game can also be heard on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 121 and XM Satellite Radio Channel 141. Bob Haynie starts the action on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network with the pregame show 60 minutes prior to tip. Stay with the network after the game for a full hour in the Geico Postgame Show. Click here to listen live online through Terps TV.
The Terrapin Sports Radio Network (15 affiliates): WJZ-FM 105.7 - Baltimore (Flagship); WJZ-AM 1300 - Baltimore (Flagship); ESPN980-AM - Washington D.C.; WWXX-FM 94.3 - Buckland, Va.; WCEM-AM 1240 - Cambridge; WBEY-FM 97.9 - Crisfield; WGOP-AM 540 - Crisfield; WFMD-AM 930 - Frederick; WARK-AM 1490 - Hagerstown; WPTX-AM 1690 - Lexington Park; WVMD-FM 99.5 - Midland; WMSG-AM 1050 - Oakland; WQMR-FM 101.1 - Ocean City; WWXT-FM 92.7 - Prince Frederick, Md.; WTGM-AM 960 - Salisbury.
Storyline
Maryland faces Virginia in the first of two meetings this season, with each team trying to break out of a logjam in the middle of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. Heading into Wednesday night's ACC game with UNC at Miami, five teams between fifth and ninth in the league all have three league losses - including the Terps and Cavaliers. The winning team moves back to .500 in the league after the matchup.
The Terrapins won both meetings last year, including a 74-68 victory in Charlottesville in the final game of the regular season. Maryland won 85-66 at Comcast Center in a game that was postponed due to snow. The teams meet again in the regular-season finale in College Park on Saturday, March 5.
Sophomore center Jordan Williams set a school record for consecutive double-doubles with his 13th last Saturday against Clemson. He had 16 points and 11 rebounds against the Tigers, surpassing the dozen double-doubles by Len Elmore at the end of the 1974 season. Williams has also hit the 500-rebound plateau for his career, becoming the 39th Terrapin in history to reach that mark. He is only the third Terp and 20th ACC player ever to hit that mark as a sophomore. Joe Smith (1994, 95) finished his sophomore season with 638 career boards, while Buck Williams (1979, 80) ended his sophomore season with 565.
Williams has 17 double-doubles this season, leading the nation in that category. Kenneth Faried of Morehead State has 15 through 20 games. Len Elmore also sits atop the Terrapins' single-season chart of double-doubles, having posted 22 in that 1974 season.
The match with Virginia marks Gary Williams' 700th game as head coach at his alma mater (454-245). Williams is three wins away from matching the 664 victories overall by legendary Coach John Wooden (Indiana State `47-48, UCLA `49-75).
Scouting the Cavaliers
Virginia is 11-8 (2-3 ACC) and snapped a three-game losing streak with a 72-64 home win over Georgia Tech on Saturday... The Cavaliers have been somewhat inconsistent, but have shown positive signs, such as a five-game winning streak from late November to mid December that included wins at then-No. 15 Minnesota and Virginia Tech... Virginia has beaten a team from five of the six "power" conferences, with wins over Oklahoma (Big 12), Oregon (Pac 10), and LSU (SEC) to go along with its win over Minnesota (Big 10) and its two ACC victories...
The Hoos are led by senior guard Mustapha Farrakhan, who is averaging 13.0 ppg. and has scored in double figures each of the last six... Sophomore point guard Jontel Evans joins Farrakhan in the backcourt and leads the team with 73 assists and 28 steals while also contributing 5.6 ppg... Freshmen Joe Harris (6-foot-6) and KT Harrell (6-foot-4) give Virginia size in its four-guard starting lineup. Harrell averages 10.5 ppg, while Harris averages 10.3...
Assane Sene, a 7-foot junior from Senegal, starts at center and leads the team in rebounding (4.5 rpg)... Senior forward Mike Scott was leading the team in scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (10.2 ppg) before suffering an ankle injury that will sideline him for the remainder of the season... Seven of the 13 players on Virginia's roster are freshmen, though one - James Johnson - is expected to redshirt, and another - Thomas Rogers - is a walk-on...
The Cavaliers rank third in the ACC in 3-point FG percentage (.388) and are coming off a 10-of-15 performance against Georgia Tech.
