Maryland Athletics - University of Maryland Official Athletic Site - Men's Basketball
4/9/2013 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 1998
No. 18 Terps Play Host to No. 3 Duke As ACC Play Heats Up
Maryland Looks to Become First in Nation to Defeat Two Top-Five Teams This Season
NO. 18 MARYLAND TERRAPINS (7-4, 0-1 ACC) VS. NO. 3 DUKE BLUE DEVILS (11-1, 1-0 ACC) SATURDAY JANUARY 3, 1998; 8:00 P.M. COLE FIELD HOUSE/14,500 COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND LEARFIELD/MARYLAND RADIO NETWORK ESPN NATIONAL BROADCAST
"In defeating Kansas on December 7, Maryland produced one of the biggest, most impressive victories in Gary Williams's nine-year tenure as head coach. Facing undefeated and second-ranked Kansas, the Terrapins produced an 86-83 victory in the first round of the Franklin National Bank Classic to prove - to themselves, and to the college basketball world - that they are a threat to the best teams in the country."
Jennifer Frey
Washington Post
December 7, 1997
The Upcoming Schedule
Jan. 7 Florida St. 7:00
Jan. 10 at N.C. State Noon
Jan. 14 N. Carolina 9:00
Jan. 17 at Wake 7:00
Jan. 21 at Ga. Tech 9:00
Jan. 24 Clemson 4:00
TERPS LOOKING FOR SECOND WIN AGAINST TOP-5 TEAM
Maryland is looking to become the first team in the nation this season to defeat two teams which were ranked in the nation's top five at the time of the game. Previously, the Terps defeated then No. 2 Kansas, 86-83, on December 7 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C.
Upcoming Milestones
Laron Profit
Career Steals
131 (current)
+ 6 (needs)
137
(to move into 6th place
all-time in school history)
Laron Profit
Career Points
750 (current)
+ 250 (needs)
1,000
(to become the 33rd player in school history to score
1,000 career points)
Terrell Stokes
Career Assists
272 (current)
+ 75 (needs)
347
(to move past Ernie Graham into 10th place
all-time in school history)
Terrell Stokes
Career Steals
99 (current)
+16 (needs)
115
(to move into 10th place
all-time in school history)
Sarunas Jasikevicius
Career Three-Pt. Shots Made
97 (current)
+ 3 (needs)
100
(to become the fifth player in school history to hit 100
or more career three-point shots.
Associated Press Top 25
December 29, 1997
1. N. Carolina 13-0
2. Kansas 15-1
3. Duke 10-1
4. Utah 11-0
5. Purdue 11-2
6. Kentucky 10-2
7. Stanford 9-0
8. Arizona 7-3
9. UCLA 8-1
10. Connecticut 11-1
11. South Carolina 7-1
12. New Mexico 7-1
13. Xavier 7-2
14. Iowa 10-1
15. Florida State 9-2
16. Mississippi 8-1
17. Princeton 10-1
18. Michigan 10-3
19. Syracuse 11-1
20. MARYLAND 7-3
21. Clemson 9-3
22. West Virginia 11-1
23. Arkansas 9-2
24. Rhode Island 6-1
25. Marquette 8-0
ESPN/USA Today Top-25
December 29, 1997
1. N. Carolina (30) 750
2. Duke 705
3. Kansas 702
4. Utah 636
5. Purdue 607
6. Arizona 589
7. Kentucky 542
8. Stanford 520
9. UCLA 494
10. South Carolina 457
11. Connecticut 454
12. Xavier 397
13. New Mexico 364
14. Iowa 359
15. Florida State 317
16. Princeton 291
17. Mississippi 281
18. MARYLAND 186
19. Syracuse 157
20. Michigan 133
21. Clemson 118
22. Temple 94
23. West Virginia 92
24. Arkansas 90
24. Marquette 90
TERPS PLAY HOST TO DUKE AS ACC SCHEDULE RESUMES
No. 18 Maryland plays host to No. 3 Duke as Atlantic Coast Conference play resumes. The Terps play the first of 15 consecutive games against ACC teams. The Terps opened their conference season on December 4 at Clemson and will open the home conference schedule tonight versus the Blue Devils. Maryland has won two of its last three ACC home games dating back to last season and two of its last three ACC season home openers. The Terps defeated Georgia Tech, 77-63, on December 12, 1996 to open their conference home schedule last season.
TERPS RECENT SUCCESS AGAINST TOP 5 TEAMS
With their victory over No. 2 Kansas on December 7, the Terps have defeated at least one team ranked within the Top-5 in three of the last four seasons. The Terps defeated then No. 2 Wake Forest, 54-51, on January 19, 1997 and then No. 1 North Carolina 86-73 on February 7, 1995.
TERPS GAIN IN ESPN/USA TODAY POLL
Maryland enters tonight's game versus Duke ranked 18th in the ESPN/USA Today Poll and 20th in the AP Poll. For the Terps, their No. 18 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today Poll represents a jump up from No. 20 last week and is their highest ranking of the year. The Terps highest AP ranking of the season is 19th during the week of December 8. The Terps' were ranked 20th in each of the previous two polls by ESPN/USA Today.
AP ESPN/USA
Pre-Season -- 23
Nov. 16 -- NP
Nov. 23 23 --
Dec. 1 23 --
Dec. 8 19 22
Dec. 15 22 20
Dec. 22 20 20
Dec. 29 20 18
ALL-AMERICA CANDIDATE PROFIT IS LEADER IN SCORING AND STEALS
Junior All-America candidate Laron Profit enters tonight's game versus Duke as the Terps' leader in scoring (16.7 ppg) and steals (3.1 spg). He has scored in double figures in nine of Maryland's 10 games this season and has recorded a career-high three double/doubles this season. Prior to this season he had recorded only one career double/double.
PROFIT'S ACC RANKINGS
Junior All-America candidate Laron Profit is the only player in the ACC to rank in the top six in scoring, steals and field goal percentage. Profit was one of only three players who finished the ACC standings ranked within the top 15 in those same categories as a sophomore.
Category Average ACC Rank Team Rank
Steals 3.1 2 1
Scoring 16.7 6 1
Field Goal % 49.3 6 4
TERPS STARTERS TURNING UP THE HEAT
Maryland's starting five (Laron Profit, Rodney Elliott, Obinna Ekezie, Matt Kovarik and Sarunas Jasikevicius) enter tonight's game versus Duke with more assists and blocked shots than the Terps' opponents combined. The fast hands of the quintet also have nearly as many steals as the Terps' opponents combined.
Assts Blocked Shots Steals
Maryland Starters 149 35 84
Opponents Combined 135 30 95
CAREER STATISTICS AGAINST DUKE
Each member of Maryland's probable starting lineup has played at least five games against Duke in their career entering tonight's game. Junior guard Terrell Stokes averages 26 minutes played in five games while junior All-America candidate Laron Profit averages a team high 8.8 points per game against the Blue Devils.
\--TOTAL--\ \--3-POINT--\ OFF DEF TOT
Player GP/GS FG-FGA .PCT FG-FGA .PCT FT-FTA .PCT PTS-AVG REB REB REB-AVG PF-D AST TO BLK STL MIN
Obinna Ekezie 5-5 9-28 .321 0-0 .000 7-16 .438 25-5.0 10 14 24-4.8 16-1 3 13 4 3 104
Rodney Elliott 7-0 12-27 .444 0-1 .000 13-17 .765 37-5.3 9 16 25-3.6 5-0 4 4 1 0 95
Norman Fields 1-0 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0.0 0 0 0-0.0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1
Sar. Jasikevicius 6-2 10-23 .435 5-9 .556 5-8 .625 30-5.0 2 3 5-0.8 2-0 6 12 1 3 84
Matt Kovarik 6-0 1-3 .333 0-0 .000 2-2 1.00 4-0.7 1 4 5-0.8 6-0 5 3 0 0 48
Laron Profit 5-2 13-31 .419 6-10 .600 10-14 .714 44-8.8 6 16 22-4.4 9-0 8 17 3 8 112
Terrell Stokes 5-2 4-11 .364 3-5 .600 7-8 .875 18-3.6 1 9 10--2.0 13-0 21 13 1 9 130
Brian Watkins 2-0 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 2-2 1.00 2-1.0 0 0 0-0.0 0-0 0 1 0 0 3
Terps by the Numbers
1 Only one team, Missouri, has shot above 50 percent from the field against the Terps this season.
3 Junior All-ACC Candidate Obinna Ekezie scored 20 points for the first time this season against Missouri- he has now scored 20 or more points three times during his career.
3 Junior All-America candidate Laron Profit has three double/doubles this season - he had one during his first two seasons combined.
7 Maryland is 7-0, undefeated, when it outscores its opponent.
18 Maryland enjoys a +18.0 points per game average margin of victory this season.
65.4 Maryland has been credited with one assist on 65.4 percent of its baskets this season (229 assists, 360 baskets).
66.7 Junior All-America candidate Laron Profit has hit 6 of his last 9 three-point shot attempts in the last four games.
80 Percent, or four of Maryland's five starters, are shooting above 50 percent from the field entering tonight's game versus Duke.
PROBABLE STARTERS FOR MARYLAND....
F #25 Rodney Elliott (15.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg; 10 pts, 8 rebs vs. Duke in ACC T, 3/8/96)
C #54 Obinna Ekezie (31.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg; 6 pts, 5 rebs vs. Duke, 2/28/96)
G #3 Laron Profit (16.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg; 19 pts, 4 stls vs. Duke in ACC T, 3/8/96)
G #11 Matt Kovarik (4.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg; 2 pts, 1 ast vs. Duke, 2/1/97)
G #13 Sarunas Jasikevicius (13.1 ppg, 2.6 apg; 15 pts 3 asts vs. Duke, 1/26/97)
....AND TOP SUBS
F #44 Terence Morris (7.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg; Career-high 20 pts vs. UNC-A, 12-22-97)
G #12 Terrell Stokes (5.8 ppg, 4.0 apg; 8 pts, 4 asts vs. Duke, 1/26/97)
C #33 Mike Mardesich (6.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg; Career-high 12 pts vs. UMBC, 12/13/97)
F #21 Laron Cephas (0.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg; Career-high 9 rebs vs. UMBC, 12-13-97)
TONIGHT'S REFEREES
Tonight's referee is Frank Scagliotta and the umpires are Andre Patillo and James Haney.
MARYLAND VERSUS DUKE- THE SERIES BY THE NUMBERS
The Series: Duke leads, 86-51
Last Maryland Win: January 26, 1997; 74-70
Last Duke Win: February 27, 1997, 81-69
Last Maryland Win at Cole Field House: January 26, 1997; 74-70
Last Duke Win at Cole Field House: February 28, 1996, 77-75
Maryland vs. Duke, Current Streak: Duke has won 1
Maryland vs. Duke, Last Ten: Duke leads 6-4
Gary Williams vs. Duke Career: 4-15 (3-14 at Maryland)
TERPS VS. DUKE - THE LAST FOUR GAMES
Feb. 27, 1997 Jan. 26, 1997 March 8, 1996 Feb. 28, 1996
at Duke 81 at Maryland 74 Maryland 82 Duke 77
Maryland 69 Duke 70 Duke 69 at Maryland 75
(ACC Tourn)
MARYLAND VERSUS DUKE - THE LAST TIME
March 27, 1997, Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina
Jeff Capel scored 18 points and Trajan Langdon added 12 as seventh-ranked Duke clinched a tie for the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title with an 81-69 victory over No. 16 Maryland. Keith Booth scored 22 points and Rodney Elliott added 14 for Maryland. The second half featured 12 lead changes until Steve Wojciechowski's three-pointer put the Blue Devils ahead for good, 55-52, with 10:20 to go.
TERPS LAST TIME OUT - AGAINST MISSOURI
Brian Grawer scored 15 points to lead five Missouri players in double figures as the Tigers beat No. 20 Maryland 83-79 Tuesday night. Obinna Ekezie led the Terps (7-4) with 20 points. The Tigers shot 50.9 percent from the field - the best any Maryland opponent has managed this year.
This Terp has more...
Junior center Obinna Ekezie has nearly as many assists through 11 games this season, 20, as he did during the entire 1996-97 season, 22.
Junior All-America candidate Laron Profit has more double/doubles this season, then he combined for during his freshman and sophomore seasons, 1.
Junior Terrell Stokes has made nearly as many three-point shots this season, 10, as he has made two-points shots, 11.
Junior Sarunas Jasikevicius made more field goals, 14, in the last three games, then he did during the month of November when he made only 13 field goals in four games.
Senior guard Matt Kovarik has scored nearly as many points in the last four games, 21, as he did during the first seven games of the season, 23.
Senior forward Rodney Elliott is averaging more rebounds in the last four games, 8.3, than he is averaging for the entire season, 7.1.
Junior guard Terrell Stokes has more assists in the last five games, 24, than he had during the first six games of the season, 20.
Junior All-America Candidate Laron Profit has more steals, 28, and assists, 29, then he does fouls, 28, for the season.
Sophomore Atman Smith has played more minutes this season, 20, than he did all of last season, 10.
Freshman Matt Hahn has more points this season, 11, than he did all of last season, 4.
TO REACH A CAREER MILESTONE...
...Senior Sarunas Jasikevicius needs only 1 game played for 100;
...Senior Sarunas Jasikevicius needs only 3 three-point shots made for 100;
...Senior Rodney Elliott needs only 16 minutes played for 1,600;
...Senior Rodney Elliott needs only four steals for 50;
...Senior Matt Kovarik needs only two rebounds for 150;
...Senior Matt Kovarik needs only 3 rebounds for 100 defensive rebounds;
...Senior Matt Kovarik needs only 3 assists for 130;
...Senior Matt Kovarik needs only 1 steal for 50;
...Junior Laron Profit needs only 16 field goals made for 300;
...Junior Laron Profit needs only 4 free throws for 125;
...Junior Laron Profit needs only 1 assist for 150;
...Junior Laron Profit needs only 4 steals for 135;
...Junior Terrell Stokes needs only 4 three-point shots made for 50;
...Junior Obinna Ekezie needs only 3 blocked shots for 70;
...Junior Obinna Ekezie needs only 5 steals for 50.
KOVARIK'S ASSIST PROGRESSION
Senior guard Matt Kovarik was credited with a career-high eight assists against Missouri Tuesday night. He has 16 assists in his last three games (5.3 apg average) and has more assists during the last three games (16) then he had during the first three games of the season (8).
Category Games 9-11 Games 1-8
Assists 16 8
Minutes/Game 21.3 14.9
Points/Game 5.0 3.7
Steals/Game 2.0 0.5
A:TO Ratio 2.3:1 1.6:1
JASIKEVICIUS FEELING HIS SHOOTING STROKE
Junior guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, who will play in his 100th career game tonight versus Duke, is also approaching the century mark for three-point shots made in his career. He enters tonight's game with 97 shots made from behind the arc in his 99-game career. Jasikevicius enters tonight's game versus Duke ranked seventh in the ACC in three-point field goals per game. Jasikevicius enjoyed a strong month of December as he shot 54.9 percent from the field and averaged 15.2 points per game in seven contests.
Category Last 7 Games First 4 games
Field Goal % 54.9 (39-71) 43.3 (13-30)
3 Pt FG % 41.8 (18-43) 25.0 (3-12)
Points Per Game 107 (15.2) 37 (9.3)
OBINNA TAKING HIS GAME TO THE BASKET
Junior center Obinna Ekezie is averaging 14.8 points per game in his last four outings to raise his season scoring average to a season-high 13.1 points per game. He scored his season-high and nearly matched his career-high as he scored 20 points against Missouri Tuesday night. During that game, he attempted a season-high 12 field goals and shot a season-high eight for a season-high 11 from the free throw line.
EKEZIE A HOT SHOT FROM THE FIELD
Junior Obinna Ekezie enter tonight's game versus Duke with a team-high 58.4 field goal shooting percentage.
Season FGM FGA FG%
1997-98 52 89 58.4
1996-97 115 209 55.0
1995-96 51 108 47.2
Totals 218 406 53.7
Terps by the Numbers in the Atlantic Coast Conference
2 Junior All-America candidate Laron Profit is ranked second in the ACC with a 1.3 steals per game average.
2 Maryland is ranked second in scoring offense with an 86.9 points per game average.
2 Maryland is ranked second in steals per game with an 11.3 steals per game average.
6 Junior All-America candidate Laron Profit is ranked sixth in scoring with a 16.7 points per game average.
6 Junior All-America candidate Laron Profit is ranked sixth in the ACC in field goal percentage.
7 Senior Rodney Elliott is ranked seventh in the ACC in field goal percentage.
7 Senior Sarunas Jasikevicius is ranked seventh in the ACC with a per game average of 1.9 three-point field goals per game.
7 Senior Rodney Elliott is ranked seventh in the ACC in rebounding with a 7.3 rebounds per game average.
8 Junior Obinna Ekezie is ranked eighth in the ACC in rebounding with a 7.2 rebounds per game average.
8 Senior forward Rodney Elliott is ranked eighth in the ACC in free throw percentage.
10 Senior Rodney Elliott is ranked 10th in scoring with a 15.7 points per game average.
TERPS' TOP CAREER FIELD GOAL SHOOTERS
Junior Obinna Ekezie enters tonight's game with a 53.7 career field goal shooting percentage - the eighth best mark in school history.
Rank Pct. FGM-FGA Player, Year
1. 61.5 446-725 by Buck Williams (1978-91)
2. 58.3 623-1,068 by Greg Manning (1977-81)
3. 57.6 438-760 by Lawrence Pittman (1975-78)
4. 55.5 699-1,259 by Tom McMillen (1971-74)
5. 55.1 484-878 by Larry Gibson (1975-79)
6. 55.0 451-819 by Joe Smith (1994-95)
7. 54.7 485-886 by Maurice Howard (1973-76)
8. 53.7 218-406 by Obinna Ekezie (1996-Present)
MARYLAND IS...
...Undefeated when senior Rodney Elliott hits multiple three-point shots;
...Undefeated when senior Rodney Elliott is perfect from the free throw line.
ELLIOTT LIKES HIS STARTING ROLE
Senior forward Rodney Elliott is averaging a career-high 15.6 points and a career-high 7.1 rebounds per game this season. Elliott is starting on a full-time basis for the first time in his career this season and proving to Head Coach Gary Williams that he is comfortable in his starters role. In addition, Elliott is averaging 16.7 points and 7.0 rebounds against ranked teams this season.
Category 97-98 Starter Career Starts Career Reserve
Games 11 19 83
Points Per Game 15.6 12.9 2.6
Rebounds Per Game 7.1 6.3 2.6
Field Goal Pct. 50.4 49.1 48.8
Free Throw Pct. 72.1 72.3 65.0
STOKES SEEING AN INCREASE IN HIS ASSIST TO TURNOVER RATIO
Junior guard Terrell Stokes has a 3.4:1 assist to turnover ratio in the last four games, a span which Maryland has won three games. During the span, Stokes has 17 assists and only five turnovers. Since Maryland's game against George Washington, Stokes has been credited with 24 assists and only six turnovers.
Games Assists Turnovers Assist:Turnover Ratio
1-7 27 19 1.4:1
8-11 17 5 3.4:1
Season 44 24 1.8:1
CAREER HIGHS WERE ESTABLISHED AGAINST MISSOURI BY...
...Senior Matt Kovarik who dished out a career-high eight assists;
...Senior Matt Kovarik who tied his career-high with a 1.00 free throw pct;
...Freshman Mike Mardesich who tied his career-high with a 1.00 free thr pct.
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'S RECORDS
Career 357-233 .605 (20th season)
at Maryland 150-105 .588 (9th season)
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
GARY WILLIAMS MARYLAND'S RADIO SPORTSLINE
John Wagner, University System Radio-TV Director, provides actualities and interviews for radio for Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams. Stations can access these sound bites by calling the Sportsline at (301) 779-6397. Features will be available at noon on gamedays during the week, and Friday evening for weekend games.
TERPS BY THE NUMBERS IN 1997-98
Overall Record: 7-4 When Outrebound Opponent: 6-1
ACC Record: 0-1 When Outrebounded by Opp: 1-3
Home Record: 6-0 When Rebounds are Equal: 0-0
Road Record: 0-2 When Leading at Half-time: 7-1
Neutral Site Record: 1-2 When Trailing at Half-time: 0-2
Day Games: 2-0 When Tied at Half-time: 0-1
Night Games: 5-4 When Shoot Better from Field: 6-3
In Home ACC Games: 0-0 When Shoot Worse from Field: 1-1
In Road ACC Games: 0-1 Versus a Ranked Opponent: 1-2
When Score At Least 80 Points: 6-0 When Score 100+ Points: 4-0
When Score Under 80 Points: 1-4
MARYLAND HAS RECORDED...
...More blocks than its opponents in 9 of 11 games this season;
...More rebounds than its opponents in 7 of 11 games this season;
...More steals than its opponents in 6 of 11 games this season.
JASIKEVICIUS TO HIT THE CENTURY MARK
Senior guard Sarunas Jasikevicius will play in his 100th career game versus Duke tonight.
TERPS TOUGH AT HOME Maryland has won all six of its games which it has played in Cole Field House this season. Over the course of the last two seasons, the Terps have won 17 of the last 20 games which have been played in Cole.
