Feb. 6, 2013
Game Notes (PDF)
Maryland takes to the road for the fifth time in the conference season when it takes on Virginia Tech Thursday at 9 p.m. in Blacksburg, Va. In the teams' previous meeting, the Terps defeated the Hokies, 94-71, on Jan. 5 in College Park. Seth Allen and Jake Layman led the way in Maryland's second-largest conference win of the year, scoring 21 and 20 points, respectively.
LIVE Coverage on the ACC Network & the Terrapin Sports Radio Network
• Thursday's game will be broadcast locally on WDCA in Washington, D.C., and WNUV in Baltimore, at 9 p.m. ET. A full affiliate listing can be found here. Steve Martin (play-by-play) and Mike Gminski (analyst) will call the action. The game can also be heard on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network - Kevin Sheehan (pbp) and Chris Knoche (analyst) have the call. |
Storyline
• Against Wake Forest last Saturday, Maryland rode 67.3 percent shooting to its biggest league win in terms of point margin this season. That mark is the fifth-best field goal percentage in a game in program history and the best since the Terps shot 73.9 percent against Wake on Jan. 28, 1986.
• In the 86-60 victory, the Terps had six players score in double figures for the first time since Feb. 9, 2011. Logan Aronhalt led the way with 13, Allen, Layman, James Padgett and Alex Len had 12 each, and Dez Wells had 11. Wells, who is second on the team in scoring (12.2 points per game), has been at his best on the road. In Maryland's five road games, the sophomore is averaging 18.8 points per contest, including 21 at North Carolina and 19 at Florida State.
• Despite experiencing a four-game shooting slump in January, Maryland has been one of the better shooting teams in the conference this season. Sans the four-game stretch from Florida State (Jan. 9) to North Carolina (Jan. 19), the Terps have shot better than 40 percent in 16 of 18 games. Maryland ranks second in the league and 24th nationally with a 47.5 shooting percentage, and is 12-1 when shooting above 45 percent this season.
• The Wake Forest game also marked a return of Maryland's defensive control. The Terps held Wake to 34.4 percent shooting, including just 25.8 percent in the first half in building a 42-25 halftime lead. That marked the seventh time in nine league games that Maryland has held the opponent under 40 percent shooting.
Maryland-Virginia Tech Series History
• Maryland leads the all-time series with Virginia Tech, 29-10, which dates back to 1926. On the road, Maryland leads the series 10-6.
• The series has gone back and forth since Virginia Tech joined the ACC. The teams have split the 12 meetings since 2005, with Maryland currently on a two-game winning streak.
• In Maryland's 94-71 win over Tech in the conference opener on Jan. 5, the Terps shot 51.7 percent, including 10 of 23 from 3-point. Seth Allen (21) and Jake Layman (20) set season highs, while Alex Len added 16 and Dez Wells had 12. Virginia Tech's Erick Green scored a game-high 28.
Quick Hitters
• Maryland's big men combined to go 16 of 19 from the field vs. Wake Forest.
James Padgett was 6-6,
Alex Len was 6-7,
Shaquille Cleare was 2-2 and
Charles Mitchell was 2-4.
• The Terps set season highs in 3-point field goals made (11) and percentage (.688) against Wake Forest.
• Maryland's 51-50 win over then-No. 14 NC State on Jan. 16 was its first win over a ranked opponent since March 3, 2010, when it beat No. 4 Duke 79-72 at home.
• The Terps are 15-1 this season when they have the lead with 5:00 left in the game, and 1-0 when tied with 5:00 left. The lone loss came at Florida State (1/30).
• The 13-game winning streak Maryland went on earlier this season is tied for the second longest in school history, trailing just the 14-game streak the Terps went on in 1931-32. Maryland also went on a 13-game win streak in 2001-02, the year they went on to win the national title.
• It was also the 11th time in school history Maryland has put together a 10-game winning streak. In the past 30 years, Maryland has gone on a 10-game winning streak on six occasions, and in each of the previous instances it has gone on to play in the NCAA Tournament.
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Logan Aronhalt is averaging one 3-point field goal made for every 7.7 minutes on the floor. By comparison, the ACC leader in 3PT FGs made, Scott Wood of NC State, makes one 3-pointer every 12.7 minutes on the floor.
• Seven of the 10 players in Maryland's regular rotation are underclassmen and 80 percent of Maryland's scoring (57.9 of 72.0 points per game) is coming from underclassmen. Additionally, Maryland's top five scorers are underclassmen.
• At least eight players have scored in 19 of Maryland's 22 games this year. The exceptions are vs. George Mason, at Miami and at North Carolina, when just seven players scored.
• The Terps are 10-2 when making more free throws than the opponent, and 4-4 when making fewer free throws.
• When
Seth Allen,
Jake Layman and
Shaquille Cleare drew starts against UMES, it marked the first time Maryland started three true freshmen since Dec. 28, 1993, when
Keith Booth, Matt Kovarik and Joe Smith did vs. Hofstra. That trio also started at Florida State (1/30).
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Charles Mitchell earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors on Dec. 31 for his play against Delaware State on Dec. 29. Mitchell came off the bench to score 19 points and grab 14 rebounds, both career highs. Mitchell is the second Terp to earn weekly ACC honors;
Alex Len was Player of the Week on Nov. 12.
Hitting the Mark
• Maryland has assisted on 59 percent (347 of 586) of its field goals this season. The Terps have recorded double-digit assists in 20 of 22 games (exceptions are at Miami & at North Carolina), and rank second in the ACC with 15.8 per game. Maryland is 15-1 when recording at least 14 assists.
• On average, Maryland has recorded 17.9 assists per game in wins, while in its six losses it has averaged just 10.0.
Field-goal Percentage Defense
• Maryland leads the ACC and ranks fourth nationally in field goal percentage defense at .363. The Terps have held 14 of the last 18 opponents under 40 percent shooting, including seven of nine ACC opponents. Just Kansas (.354), Texas (.358) and Florida (.360) have held opponents to a lower mark than Maryland has.
Hot Shooting
• Maryland ranks second in the ACC in field goal percentage at .475, behind just NC State (.504). That marks also ranks 24th nationally. The Terps have shot above 40 percent in each of the past four contests, snapping a streak of four straight games in which they shot under 40 percent. Prior to that streak of four games, Maryland had shot better than 40 percent in 12 of its previous 13 games.
• Against Wake Forest (2/2), Maryland recorded its fifth-best field goal percentage in program history at .673. The four single-game marks better than that are: .833 (15-18) vs. South Carolina, 1/9/71; .739 (34-46) vs. Wake Forest, 1/28/86; .732 (30-41) vs. NC State, 12/20/80; and .704 (50-71) vs. Miami (OH), 12/28/79.
Tickets and Game Promotions
• A variety of ticket options, including season, single-game and flex packs are available. Click here for more details.
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Media Information
• Terps on the Web: For up-to-date game stories, statistics, schedules and results, and other Maryland athletic department information, please log-on to www.umterps.com on the Internet.
• GameTracker: Follow Terps games live in 2013 on your computer with GameTracker. Links for all games that will be available can be found at www.umterps.com.
