Nov. 25, 1997
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All-ACC candidate LaRon Profit. (File photo)
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Terps at Home Looking for 55th Consecutive Non-Conference Home Victory
Second longest streak in the nation
NO. 24 MARYLAND TERRAPINS (2-1, 0-0 ACC)
VS
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL PANTHERS (1-0, 0-0 TAAC)
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 25, 1997; 7:30 P.M.
COLE FIELD HOUSE/14,500
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND
LEARFIELD/MARYLAND RADIO NETWORK
PROFIT AVERAGING 24 POINTS IN FIRST THREE GAMES
Junior All-America Candidate Laron Profit enters tonight's game versus Florida International with a career-high 24.0 points per game average. He scored his career-high of 27 points against Fairleigh Dickinson on November 18 and has scored at least 21 points in each of Maryland's three games this season. It marks the first time during his career that he has scored at least 20 points in three consecutive games.
All-America Candidate Profit Averaging Team-High 24.0 Points
Has Hit for at Least 21 in Each of First Three Games
Upcoming Milestones
Laron Profit
Career Steals
105 (current)
+ 10 (needs)
115
(to move into 10th place
all-time in school history)
Laron Profit
Career Points
616 (current)
+ 384 (needs)
1,000
(to become the 33rd player in school history to score 1,000 career points)
Terrell Stokes
Career Assists
244 (current)
+ 103 (needs)
347
(to move past Ernie Graham into 10th place all-time in school history)
Terrell Stokes
Career Steals
90 (current)
+25 (needs)
115
(to move into 10th place
all-time in school history)
Sarunas Jasikevicius
Career Three-Pt. Shots Made
79 (current)
+ 21 (needs)
100
(to become the sixth player to hit 100 or more career three-point shots).
TERPS RANKED NO. 24 BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Maryland is ranked 24th in this week's Associated Press poll. The Terps were ranked 27th in last weeks poll and recorded a 2-0 record last week. It marks the first AP poll this season that the Terps have been included in and the 13th time in the last 14 regular season polls that Maryland has been ranked in the Top-25. The Terps were ranked as high as No. 5 last season.
MARYLAND PLAYS HOST TO FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL
Maryland plays host to Florida International in its fourth game of the season and third here in Cole Field House. The Terps are riding a 15-game home winning streak during the month of November. The streak dates back to November 30, 1985 when Ohio State defeated the Terps, 78-66.
TERPS LOOK FOR 55TH CONSECUTIVE NON-ACC VICTORY IN COLE
Maryland is looking to extend its non-conference winning streak to 55 consecutive games as it plays host to Florida International tonight. The Terps' current streak is the second longest in the nation; Oklahoma State has won 71 consecutive non-conference games at Henry Iba Arena in Stillwater. Maryland has not lost to a non-ACC opponent in Cole since December 12, 1989.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR...
...Look for Maryland to win its 55th consecutive non-conference home game.
...Look for junior All-America Candidate Laron Profit to reach the 20-point scoring plateau for the fourth consecutive game for the first time in his career. The last Maryland player to score at least 20 points in four consecutive games was Johnny Rhodes during the 1995-96 season (20 against North Carolina, Feb. 6; 27 against Florida State, Feb. 10; 21 against Wake Forest, Feb. 15; 20 against Missouri, Feb. 18).
Associated Press Top 25
November 24, 1997
1) Arizona 1,690
2) Kansas 1,673
3) Duke 1,595
4) North Carolina 1,584
5) S. Carolina 1,325
6) Purdue 1,303
7) UCLA 1,300
8) Kentucky 1,281
9) Xavier 1,082
10) New Mexico 1,076
11) Connecticut 996
12) Fresno State 905
13) Clemson 862
14) Iowa 835
15) Stanford 736
16) Utah 726
17) Mississippi 576
18) Oklahoma 546
19) Louisville 300
20) Temple 292
21) Indiana 188
22) Georgia 183
23) Rhode Island 163
24) MARYLAND 156
25) UNC - Charlotte 143
ESPN/USA Today Pre-Season Top-25
November 24, 1997
1) Arizona 1-0
2) Kansas 4-0
3) North Carolina 3-0
4) Duke 2-0
5) Purdue 3-0
6) UCLA 0-0
7) Kentucky 1-0
8) South Carolina 2-0
9) New Mexico 4-0
10) Xavier 2-0
11) Connecticut 3-0
12) Clemson 3-1
13) Stanford 1-0
14) Utah 3-0
15) Fresno State 2-0
16) Iowa 2-0
17) Oklahoma 3-0
18) Mississippi 2-0
19) Louisville 0-0
20) Temple 2-1
21) Indiana 1-1
22) Princeton 3-0
23) UNC Charlotte 0-1
24) Georgia 3-1
25) Florida State 3-0
Wake Forest 3-0
CAREER HIGHS WERE ESTABLISHED AGAINST MT. ST. MARY'S BY...
...Redshirt freshman Mike Mardesich who scored a career-high 10 points;
...Redshirt freshman Mike Mardesich who grabbed a career-high six rebounds;
...Junior Laron Profit who tied his career-high with 7 assists;
...Freshman Terence Morris who scored a career-high nine points;
...Freshman Terence Morris who grabbed a career-high six rebounds.
PROBABLE STARTERS FOR MARYLAND....
F #25 Rodney Elliott (15.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg; 16 pts, 6 rebs vs. Mt. St. Mary's)
C #54 Obinna Ekezie (11.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg; 17 pts vs. Mt. St. Mary's)
G #3 Laron Profit (24.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg; Career-high 27 points vs. F. Dickinson)
G #12 Terrell Stokes (4.7 ppg, 5.3 apg; 2:1 assist:turnover ratio in 97-98)
G #13 Sarunas Jasikevicius (9.7 ppg, 3.3 apg; 15 points vs. F. Dickinson)
....AND TOP SUBS
F #44 Terence Morris (6.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg; 9 points, 6 rebs vs. Mt. St. Mary's)
G #11 Matt Kovarik (3.3 ppg, 1.7 apg; 0 turnovers in 46 minutes played)
C #33 Mike Mardesich (5.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg; 10 points vs. Mt. St. Mary's)
F #45 Brian Watkins (1.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg; 5 points, 4 rebs. vs. Mt. St. Mary's)
TONIGHT'S REFEREES
Tonight's referee is Frank Scagliotta and the umpires are Leslie Jones and Kelly Lombard.
MARYLAND VERSUS FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL - A SERIES HISTORY
The Series: First Meeting
Last Maryland Win: First Meeting
Last Maryland Win in Cole Field House: First Meeting
Last Fla. International Win: First Meeting
Last Fla. Int. Win in Cole Field House: First Meeting
Maryland vs. Fla. Int., Current Streak: First Meeting
Gary Williams vs. Fla. International, Career: First Meeting
TEAM HIGH'S WERE ESTABLISHED AGAINST MT. ST, MARY'S AS...
...The Terps shot a season-high 59.7 percent (37-62) from the field;
...The Terps shot as season-high 69.7 percent (23-33) from the free-throw line;
...The Terps dished out a season-high 28 assists;
...The Terps scored a season-high 102 points;
...The Terps enjoyed a season-high +22 point half-time advantage;
...The Terps enjoyed a season high +28 point final margin of victory;
...The Terps enjoyed a season-high +10 rebound margin.
TERPS FROM THE FIELD AGAINST MT. ST. MARY'S
Maryland shot a season-high 59.7 percent from the field against Mt. St. Mary's on Saturday night. The Terps shot especially well in the second-half as they were successful on 66.7 percent (18-27) of their shots.
Half FGM-A FG Pct. Points
1st 19-35 54.3 52
2nd 18-27 66.7 50
TERPS CONTINUE TO DISH THE BALL AND FIND TEAMMATES
Maryland recorded a team high 28 assists against Mt. St. Mary's and recorded assists on 75.7 percent (28-37) of the total baskets for the game. The Terps enters tonight's game versus Florida International with 70 assists on their 92 field goals in the first three games of the season.
Game FGM A FG:B Pct.
#7 South Carolina 16 24 66.7
Fairleigh Dickinson 26 31 83.8
Mt. St. Mary's 28 37 75.7
Totals 70 92 76.1
Terps By The Numbers
0 Redshirt senior guard Matt Kovarik has committed zero turnovers in 46 minutes played this season.
2 Maryland is undefeated, 2-0, when it outscores its opponent.
2 Maryland is 2-0 this season when junior guard Terrell Stokes has more assists than points.
5 Sophomore guard Matt Hahn scored five points against Mt. St. Mary's - he scored four points during his entire freshman season.
10 Senior center Obinna Ekezie has 10 assists through the first three games this season - he accounted for 10 during his entire freshman season.
10.8 Senior forward Rodney Elliott averages 10.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 11 career games as a starter.
15 The Terps have won 15 consecutive home games during the month of November and have not lost during the month since the 1985-86 season.
23 Junior All-America candidate Laron Profit ranks tied for 23rd in the nation in scoring entering tonight's game versus Florida International.
40 Senior forward Rodney Elliott played a career-high 40 minutes against S. Carolina in the season opener.
90 Senior forward Rodney Elliott has made nine of his last 10 free throw attempts over the course of the last two games.
101 Redshirt senior guard Matt Kovarik will play in his ACC- leading 101st career game versus Florida International tonight.
MORRIS SCORES SEASON-HIGH NINE AGAINST MT. ST. MARY'S
Freshman Terence Morris, a candidate for ACC Rookie-of-the-Year honors, scored a season-high nine points and grabbed a season-high six rebounds against Mt. St. Mary's. The athletic newcomer has blocked at least one shot in each of Maryland's first three games and has at least four rebounds in all three contests. In addition, he has shot at least 50 percent from the field in each of the last two games.
STOKES LIFTING HIS ASSIST: TURNOVER RATIO
Junior Terrell Stokes enters tonight's game versus Florida International with 16 assists and only eight turnovers for an assist:turnover ratio of 2:1. He recorded a season-high nine assists against Fairleigh Dickinson (while committing only two turnovers) and has not had a negative assist to turnover ratio this season.
Period Assists Turnovers A:TO
Last 2 Games 13 5 2.6:1
Season 16 8 2:1
KOVARIK HITS THE CENTURY MARK
Redshirt senior guard Matt Kovarik played in his 100th career game against Mt. St. Mary's on Saturday night in Cole Field House. The school record for games played in a career is 131.
RUBY TUESDAY
Maryland has won 11 consecutive games played on Tuesdays and have not lost on a Tuesday night since December 7, 1993 at Oklahoma.
KOVARIK NEARLY SURPASSES CAREER-HIGH POINTS
Redshirt senior guard Matt Kovarik scored eight points against Mt. St. Mary's - one point off of his career high. He had scored nine points against Morgan State on December 4, 1993.
KOVARIK ESTABLISHED CAREER-HIGHS...
...With four field goals against Mt. St. Mary's;
...With a perfect 4-for-4 from the field against Mt. St. Mary's.
JASIKEVICIUS HOLDING ONTO THE BASKETBALL
Senior guard Sarunas Jasikevicius has committed only one turnover in the last three halves or 36 minutes of playing time.
EKEZIE HELPING OUT THE TEAM EFFORT
Junior center Obinna Ekezie has been credited with 10 assists so far this season and enters tonight's game versus Florida International with a 3.3 assists per game average. He was credited with a career-high four assists against Fairleigh Dickinson and has at least three assists in each game this season. Ekezie's 10 assists this season tie his freshman season mark and is nearly half way to his career-high of 22 which he established as sophomore.
Year Assists Games Assists/Game
1997-98 10 3 3.3
1996-97 22 32 0.6
1995-96 10 32 0.3
Career 42 65 0.6
EKEZIE STAYING ON THE FLOOR
Junior Obinna Ekezie scored a season-high 17 points against Mt. St. Mary's while playing a season-high 27 minutes. His 27 minutes came as he committed a season-low two fouls. Maryland is 9-1 over the course of the last two seasons when Ekezie is whistled for two fouls or less during a single game. During those ten games, Ekezie averages 13.4 points and 8.2 rebounds.
LEARFIELD RADIO - THE MARYLAND RADIO NETWORK
All of Maryland's games this season - home and away - will be heard live on the Learfield/Maryland Radio Network.
The Terps will be heard on the flagship stations, WBAL (1090-AM) and WMAL (630-AM) which combine to give Maryland one of the strongest combination of broadcast signals of any collegiate basketball team in the nation. The Terps can now be heard from Maine to Florida.
Johnny Holliday, now in his 19th season, will once again serve as the voice of the Terps. He is joined once again by former Terps all-star Greg Manning, currently in his 12th season with the broadcast team.
Maryland Radio Network
Flagship Stations
WBAL-AM Balt, Md. 1090
WMAL-AM Wash-D.C. 630
WAMD-AM Aberdeen 970
WI00-AM Carlisle, Pa. 1000
WTBO-AM Cumberland 1450
WSER-AM Elkton 1550 930
WFMD-AM Frederick 930
WARK-AM Hagerstown 1450
WMSG-AM Mtn Lake Pk 1050 1050
WKHW-FM Pocomoke Ct 106.5
WTGM-FM Salisbury 960
WTTR-AM Westminster 1470
ELLIOTT FROM THE THREE-POINT ARC
Senior forward Rodney Elliott has scored at least one three-point shot in each of Maryland's three games this season for the first time in his career. During his career, Maryland is 11-5 when Elliott hits at least one three-point shot. Maryland is 2-1 when Elliott hits multiple three-point shots during his career.
ELLIOTT FROM THE FREE THROW LINE
Senior forward Rodney Elliott has hit 11 of his last 14 free throws (78.5 percent) since (and including) the overtime period against South Carolina in the season opener. Elliott's 72.7 percent from the free throw line this season is one-tenth of a percentage point away from his career high of 72.8 last season.
KOVARIK NAMED TO NABC ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL
Senior Matt Kovarik was recently named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches academic honor roll. The honor roll salutes players who are entering their junior or senior seasons and who hold a 3.2 or better grade point average. Kovarik is a business major.
TERPS SELECTED FOURTH BY ACC WRITERS
Maryland was selected to finish fourth in the pre-season poll by the Atlantic Coast Conference Sportswriters Association. The Terps were predicted to finish in the upper echelon of the ACC for the fifth consecutive season.
1997-98 ACSWA PRE-SEASON PREDICATIONS
1. Duke (45) 730
2. North Carolina (43) 727
3. Clemson (2) 628
4. MARYLAND 429
5. N.C. State 391
6. Wake Forest 335
7. Florida State 324
8. Virginia 177
9. Georgia Tech 174
TERPS BY THE NUMBERS IN 1997-98
Overall Record: 2-1 When Outrebound Opponent: 2-1
ACC Record: 0-0 When Outrebounded by Opp: 0-0
Home Record: 2-0 When Rebounds are Equal: 0-0
Road Record: 0-0 When Leading at Half-time: 2-0
Neutral Site Record: 0-1 When Trailing at Half-time: 0-0
Day Games: 0-0 When Tied at Half-time: 0-1
Night Games: 2-1 When Shoot Better from Field: 1-1
In Home ACC Games: 0-0 When Shoot Worse from Field: 1-0
In Road ACC Games: 0-0 Versus a Ranked Opponent: 0-1
When Score At Least 80 Points: 2-0 When Score 100+ Points: 1-0
When Score Under 80 Points: 0-1
TERPS SIGN TWO PLAYERS ON FIRST DAY OF SIGNING PERIOD
Maryland signed a pair of Blue-Chip high school players, guard Danny Miller and forward Lonnie Baxter, on the first day of the current National Letter of Intent signing period. At 6-6, Miller (Mt. Holly, N.J./Rancocas Valley H.S.) is rated as the 11th best high school prospect in the nation while the 6-8 Baxter (Rockville, Md./Hargrave Military Academy) is rated among the top 50.
GARY WILLIAMS CAREER RECORD
Gary Williams Career Record 352-230 .605 20th season
Gary Williams at Maryland 145-102 .587 9th season
