Maryland Athletics - University of Maryland Official Athletic Site - Men's Basketball
4/9/2013 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 31, 1998
Maryland vs. Virginia Preview
No. 23 Terps Return To Cole To Face Virginia For First Time This Season;
In Third Place In ACC Standings As Final Month Of Regular Season Begins
NO. 23 MARYLAND TERRAPINS (12-7, 5-4 ACC)
VS.
VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (10-11, 2-6 ACC)
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 1, 1998; 4:00 P.M.
COLE FIELD HOUSE/14,500
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND
LEARFIELD/MARYLAND RADIO NETWORK
JEFFERSON PILOT SPORTS REGIONAL TELEVISION
"Obinna Ekezie already has the body of any NBA center, and knows how to use it. On one play he might use a subtle swing of his hips and send an opponent reeling; the next time downcourt he just might run past everyone for an alley-oop play."
David Ginsburg
Associated Press
December 7, 1997
Gary Williams' Career Record
Career 362-236 .605
at Maryland 155-108 .589
(9th season)
...Maryland's strength of schedule is rated as No. 1 for the second consecutive week;
... Maryland is ranked 9th in the latest NCAA RPI Power Ratings Report.
Maryland returns home to Cole Field House following a short one-game road-trip to play host to Virginia. The Terps have a 9-1 record in Cole this season and have won three consecutive games there. In that stretch of three consecutive victories, Maryland has defeated then No. 23 Clemson (Jan. 24, 74-69), then No. 1 North Carolina (Jan. 14, 89-83 OT) and then No. 13 Florida State (Jan. 7, 81-74). Maryland was 11-3 in Cole last season and have won 46 of its last 53 games (86.8 percent) played here under Head Coach Gary Williams. Maryland was undefeated, 16-0, here at home during the 1994-95 season.
TERPS RANKED 23RD IN AP POLL, 24TH BY ESPN/USA TODAYMaryland enters this afternoon's game versus Virginia ranked 23rd in the nation by the Associated Press and 24th in the latest ESPN/USA Today poll. The Terps have been ranked in seven of the last 10 AP polls and five of the last ESPN/USA Today polls. Maryland has been ranked as high as 19th by the AP (week of Dec. 8) and as high as 18th in the ESPN/USA Today Poll (week of Dec. 29).
RODNEY ELLIOTT DAY IN BALTIMOREBaltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke proclaimed January 26, 1998 as "Rodney Elliott Day" in the city of Baltimore. The announcement was made at the Camden Club which is in the warehouse in right field of Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
GAME TIME CHANGEThe tip-off time for Maryland's home game versus N.C. State on February 11th has been changed to 8:00 p.m.
IN MARYLAND'S LAST THREE GAMES IN COLE FIELD HOUSE... ...The Terps have a 3-0 record;...The Terps have defeated three ranked teams (then No. 13 Florida State, then No. 1 North Carolina and then No. 23 Clemson);
...The Terps have hit more free throws (73) than their opponents have attempted (72);
...The Terps have scored at least 80 points twice (89 against North Carolina and 81 against Florida State);
...The Terps own a +6 point average margin of victory and a +3.6 average rebound margin;
...Senior Rodney Elliott (7.7 rpg) and junior Obinna Ekezie (7.3 rpg) are averaging more than seven rebounds a game;
...Junior Laron Profit is averaging 4.0 steals per game;
...The Terps are averaging nearly four turnovers less than their opponents.
JUNIOR GUARD LARON PROFIT IS...
...The only player in the ACC to rank in the top 10 in steals (1st, 3.2 spg), scoring (10th, 15.6 ppg); field goal percentage (10th, 44.6 percent) and assists (10th, 3.4 apg).
THE PROFIT STEAL STORYJunior Laron Profit enters this afternoon's game versus Virginia as the ACC leader in steals with a career-high 3.3 per game average and a career-high 61 total steals. He is the only player in the ACC to have garnered more than 50 steals and is looking to become only the fourth conference player in the decade of the 90's to average more than three steals a game.
THE PROFIT STEALS STORY IIJunior Laron Profit has 158 career steals entering this afternoon's game. His 158 career steals rank him fifth all-time at Maryland.
Rank No. Player, SPG, Years Profit/to Pass 1. 344 by Johnny Rhodes (2.8 spg; 1993-1996) +187 2. 193 by Keith Booth (1.53 spg; 1994-97) +36 3. 175 by Walt Williams (1.7 spg; 1988-92) +18 4. 170 by Dutch Morley (1.4 spg; 1978-82) +13 5. 158 by Laron Profit (1.95 spg; 1995-96 - Present)IN THE ACC ANNUAL STATISTICS
Junior Laron Profit is looking to become only the sixth player in ACC history to average 3.0 or more steals per game since the 1976-77 season.
MORRIS SHINES AGAINST DUKEFreshman Terence Morris scored his first career double/double as he scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds against Duke Thursday night. He became the first Maryland freshman since Joe Smith (14 points and 10 rebounds) against Michigan on March 25, 1994 to record a double/double.
JASIKEVICIUS MOVING UP THE CAREER LISTSSenior Sarunas Jasikevicius is ranked fifth in school history for both three-point field goals made and three-point field attempted.
Rk Player, Years 3FGM Rk Player, Years 3FGA 1. Johnny Rhodes, 1993-96 186 1. Johnny Rhodes, 1993-96 557 2. Walt Williams, 1988-92 154 2. Walt Williams, 1988-92 429 3. Teyon McCoy, 1986-88, 90 132 3. Duane Simpkins, 1993-96 320 4. Duane Sumpkins, 1993-96 130 4. Teyon McCoy, 1986, 90 316 5. Sarunas Jasikevicius, 1995-P112 5. Sarunas Jasikevicius, 1995-P 301Upcoming Milestones
Laron Profit Career Steals 158 (current) + 13 (needs) 171 (to move into 4th place all-time in school history) Laron Profit Career Points 861 (current) + 139 (needs) 1,000 (to become the 33rd player in school history to score 1,000 career points) Terrell Stokes Career Assists 203 (current) + 44 (needs) 347 (to move past Ernie Graham into 10th place all-time in school history) Terrell Stokes Career Steals 107 (current) +8 (needs) 115 (to move into 10th place all-time in school history) Sarunas Jasikevicius Career Three-Pt. Shots Made 111 (current) + 20 (needs) 131 (to move into 4th place all-time in school history) Obinna Ekezie Career-Blocked Shots 72 (current) + 4 (needs) 76 (to move into 10th place al-time in school history) Gary Williams Career Games Coached 598 (current) + 2 (needs) 600 (Williams current holds a career-record of 362-236 and averages 18.1 victories a season)
PROBABLE STARTERS FOR MARYLAND.... F #25 Rodney Elliott (14.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg; 9 pts, 4 rebs vs. UVa. 3/2/97) C #54 Obinna Ekezie (13.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg; 9 pts, 10 rebs vs. UVa. 1/4/97) G #3 Laron Profit (15.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg; 24 pts, 2 asts vs. UVa., 3/2/97) G #12 Terrell Stokes (5.2 ppg, 4.0 apg; 15 pts, 5 asts vs. UVa., 1/4/97) G #13 Sarunas Jasikevicius (12.6 ppg, 3.4 apg; 24 pts, 4 asts vs. UVa, 1/4/97) ....AND TOP SUBS F #44 Terence Morris (7.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg; Double/Double 12p/10r vs. Duke) G #11 Matt Kovarik (3.1 ppg, 2.2 apg; 2 pts, 3 asts vs. UVa., 1/4/97) C #33 Mike Mardesich (5.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg; 12 pts, 9 rebs vs. UNC, 1/14/98) F #21 LaRon Cephas (0.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg; 9 rebs vs., UMBC, 12/13/97)TODAY'S OFFICIALS
Today's referee is Frank Scagliotta and the umpires are Duke Edsall and Tim Higgins.
MARYLAND VERSUS VIRGINIA- THE SERIES BY THE NUMBERS The Series: Maryland leads, 87-60 Last Maryland Win: January 4, 1997, 78-62 Last Virginia Win: March 2, 1997, 81-74 Last Maryland Win at Cole Field House: January 4, 1997, 78-62 Last Virginia Win at Cole Field House: February 4, 1993; 70-68 Maryland vs. Virginia, Current Streak: Virginia has won 1 Maryland vs. Virginia, Last Ten: Virginia leads 6-4 Gary Williams vs. Virginia Career: 7-10 overall (7-9 at Maryland)
TERPS VS. VIRGINIA- THE LAST FOUR GAMES March 2, 1997 Jan. 4, 1997 March 2, 1996 Feb. 1, 1996 at Virginia 74 at Maryland 78 at Maryland 83 Maryland 80 Maryland 81 Virginia 62 Virginia 71 at Virginia 72TERPS' 87 VICTORIES IS MOST ALL-TIME AGAINST ANY TEAM
Maryland has an all-time record of 87-60 against Virginia. The 87 victories against the Cavaliers marks the most all-time victories against any opponent by the Terps.
AND ON THE SEVENTH DAYMaryland is 1-0 this season in games played on Sunday. The Terps defeated then No. 2 Kansas in the first round of the Franklin National Bank Classic on Sunday December 7 at the MCI Center.
KOVARIK AGAINST THE CAVALIERS IN COLESenior Matt Kovarik has never lost to Virginia as a member of the Terps during his career in Cole Field House. The Terps have won all four of their games in the last four years against their rivals from the immediate south.
TERPS AGAINST VIRGINIA - THE LAST TIME LAST YEARMarch 2, 1997; University Hall, Charlottesville, Va. Harold Deane scored 18 points as Virginia kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a pivotal 81-74 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over 16th-ranked Maryland. Laron Profit scored 24 points and Keith Booth added 17 for Maryland.
TERPS LAST TIME OUT - AGAINST DUKENo. 1 Duke beat the No. 23 Terrapins 86-59 Thursday night. Rodney Elliott paced Maryland with 13 points. The Blue Devils raced out to a 57-30 halftime lead as they took the second of two regular season match-ups with the Terps this season. Freshman Terence Morris scored his first career double/double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while junior Terrell Stokes added five assists.
Terps by the Numbers
1 Freshman Terence Morris scored his first career-double/double against Duke with 12 points and 10 rebounds. It marked the first double/double by a freshman since Joe Smith against Michigan in the 1994 NCAA Tournament.
5.0 Junior Terrell Stokes is averaging 5.0 assists in the last four games.
6 Junior Laron Profit is looking to become only the sixth player in ACC history to average 3.0 steals or more per game.
8 Freshman Terence Morris tied his career-highs with eight free throws made and 10 free throws attempted against Duke.
9 Junior Laron Profit has garnered multiple steals in nine consecutive games.
12 Maryland is undefeated, 12-0, when it outscores its opponent.
15 Senior Sarunas Jasikevicius has hit at least one three-point shot in 15 consecutive games.
39 Senior Matt Kovarik has more assists (39) than fouls (33) this season.
65.4 Junior Obinna Ekezie is shooting a career-high 65.4 percent from the free throw line this season (85-130).
68 Junior Laron Profit has made a career-high 68 free throws in a career-high 96 attempts this season.
85.7 Senior Rodney Elliott is shooting 85.7 percent six of seven) from the free throw line in the last two games.
Junior guard Terrell Stokes enters this afternoon's game against Virginia with 303 career assists, a 3.2 assists per game average. He is only the 12th player in school history to record 300 or more assists in his career. He averages 3.7 assists per game for his entire 81-game career. Stokes established the school record for assists in a single game with 14 against Towson University on November 30, 1996.
STOKES RAISING THE ASSISTS BARJunior guard Terrell Stokes is averaging 5.0 assists per game in the last five games. He has recorded at least five assists in three of those games.
Category Assists APG Last 5 20 5.0 Season (19 games) 75 3.9 Career (81 games) 303 3.7THE EKEZIE IMPROVEMENT
Junior Obinna Ekezie is averaging more points, rebounds and minutes per game this season than during the first two years of his career while averaging less fouls per game since the beginning of his sophomore season. Ekezie enters this afternoon's game averaging a career high 13.1 points, a career-high tying 6.6 rebounds and a career-high 27.3 minutes per game. In addition, he is averaging less than three fouls per game.
Season PPG RPG MPG FPG 1997-98 13.1 6.6 27.3 2.9 1996-97 10.1 6.6 26.8 3.3 1995-96 4.5 3.7 15.4 2.6OBINNA EKEZIE HAS...
...Made more free throws this season (85) than he did during his entire freshman season;
...Made a near career-high 85 free throws this season - he made 92 during the 1996-97 season;
...Been credited with a near career-high 27 assists - he was credited with 32 during the 1996-97 season;
...Scored in double figures in four of the last five games;
...Scored two double/doubles this season - against George Washington (10 points and 10 rebounds) and Florida State (18 points and 11 rebounds).
Senior Rodney Elliott is enjoying his finest collegiate season as he is averaging a career-high 14.7 points and a career-high 6.6 rebounds per game.
RODNEY ELLIOTT HAS PUT UP CAREER-HIGH NUMBERS IN...
...Field goals made with 97 (previous best is also 97 during the 1996-97 season);
...Assists with 30 (previous career-high was 24 in 1996-97);
...Total points with 280 (previous career-high was 275 in 1996-97);
...Field goal percentage with a 50.5 percentage (previous career-high is 50.0 in 1996-96 and 1994-95).
Junior Laron Profit is averaging a career-high 2.15 offensive rebounds per game to go along with his career-high 5.7 rebounds per game average this season. He has grabbed a career-high 41 rebounds this season.
Terps From the Free Throw Line
3 Senior Sarunas Jasikevicius was three-for-three from the free throw line against Georgia Tech in the final 1.1 seconds of Maryland's victory on January 21. The three free throws were the final margin of the game as the Terps won 70-67.
7 Senior Rodney Elliott hit seven consecutive free throws during the last three Terp games. He hit his final shot against Georgia Tech, was a perfect three-of-three against Clemson and hit his first three against Duke before missing on his fourth attempt of the night. During the three-game stretch, he has hit seven-of-eight (87.5 percent).
8 Freshman Terence Morris tied his career-high with eight free throws made in a career-high ten attempts against Duke.
78.1 Freshman Terence Morris has hit 25 of his last 32 attempts from the free throw line in the last 11 games.
85 Junior Obinna Ekezie has made more free throws this season (85) than he attempted during his entire freshman season (60).
86.3 Senior Rodney Elliott has hit 44-of-51 free throws in games played in Cole Field House this season.
86.7 Freshman Terence Morris has hit 13 of his last 15 free throws in the last five games. The streak began with his final made shot against North Carolina in the overtime period and is current through his final four made free throws against Duke.
218 Maryland has made 218 free throws while its opponents have attempted 211 free throws in games played here in Cole Field House this season.
JASIKEVICIUS NAMED AS ACC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEKTerps senior guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, who scored the game-winning free throws with 1.1 seconds remaining in last Wednesday night's win over Georgia Tech and scored the game-winning basket against Clemson on Saturday with 3:50 remaining, was named the ACC Co-Player of the Week announced on Monday. Jasikevicius' heroics began against Georgia Tech as he received the inbounds pass with 5.4 seconds remaining and dribbled to the three-point line. He lofted what would have counted as a game-winning three-point basket but drew a foul from Tech's Matt Harpring and went to the line for three free throw shots. He calmly hit nothing but net on all three shots, giving the Terps the 70-67 game-winning advantage. Against Clemson, Jasikevicius scored 12 points in the final five minutes of the Terps' victory on Saturday to finish with a team-high 20 points. He scored the game-winning basket with 3:50 remaining after helping in a half-court trap and stealing the ball from Tiger center Mohamed Woni. He was credited with a steal, gathered the loose ball and scored on a layup. It marked the first time that he had won the honor during his career.
JASIKEVICIUS LAST WEEK Opponent FGM-A FTM-A 3PM-A R A S PT vs. Georgia Tech 4-9 3-3 2-2 7 6 1 13 vs. Clemson 7-10 2-4 4-6 6 2 1 20 Totals 11-19 5-7 6-8 13 8 2 33 Percentages/Avgs. 57.8 71.4 75.0 6.5 4.8 1.0 16.5
TO REACH A CAREER STATISTICAL MILESTONE... ...Junior Laron Profit needs 4 minutes for 2,000 played; ...Junior Laron Profit needs 11 field goals attempted for 700; ...Junior Laron Profit needs 2 three-point field goals attempted for 200; ...Junior Laron Profit needs 1 assists for 175; ...Junior Terrell Stokes needs 19 minutes for 2,100; ...Junior Terrell Stokes needs 2 field goals for 150; ...Junior Terrell Stokes needs 2 three-point field goals for 50; ...Junior Terrell Stokes needs 2 rebounds for 175; ...Senior Matt Kovarik needs 15 minutes for 1,200; ...Junior Obinna Ekezie needs 2 field goals for 250; ...Junior Obinna Ekezie needs 1 rebound for 450; ...Junior Obinna Ekezie needs 1 steal for 50; ...Freshman Terence Morris needs 1 field goal attempted for 100; ...Senior Sarunas Jasikevicius needs 7 defensive rebounds for 150; ...Senior Rodney Elliott needs 8 defensive rebounds for 300.PROFIT ALSO BLOCKING HIS WAY TO THE TOP
In the last three games Junior Laron Profit has four blocked shots for a 1.6 blocks per game average. He is averaging a career-high 1.0 blocks per game this season. Profit enters this afternoon's game against Virginia with a near-career high 19 blocks and now has 46 blocks in 78 career games.
Season Blocks Games BPG 1997-98 19 19 1.0 1996-97 21 32 0.6 1995-96 2 27 0.2 Totals 42 78 0.5TERPS 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 early National Letter of Intent signing period in November. 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.
LEARFIELD RADIO - THE MARYLAND RADIO NETWORKAll 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 1470GARY 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: 12-7 When Outrebound Opponent: 8-2 ACC Record: 5-4 When Outrebounded by Opp: 4-5 Home Record: 9-1 When Rebounds are Equal: 0-0 Road Record: 2-4 When Leading at Half-time: 10-1 Neutral Site Record: 1-2 When Trailing at Half-time: 254 Day Games: 4-0 When Tied at Half-time: 0-1 Night Games: 8-7 When Shoot Better from Field: 9-3 In Home ACC Games: 3-1 When Shoot Worse from Field: 3-4 In Road ACC Games: 2-3 Versus a Ranked Opponent: 4-4 When Score At Least 80 Points: 8-0 When Score 100+ Points: 4-0 When Score Under 80 Points: 4-7GARY WILLIAMS ON TELEVISION
The Gary Williams Television show can be seen locally on Home Team Sports at 5:00 p.m. on Fridays. Join host Johnny Holliday, Gary Williams and a special player guest each week to review the past games and look forward to upcoming games.
GARY WILLIAMS ON RADIOThe Gary Williams radio show can be heard on WTEM - Radio (570-AM) on Saturday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Gary Williams previews the upcoming week and looks back at the past week with Johnny Holliday as the host of the 30 minute show.
