Terps Set for CBE Classic in Kansas City
11/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland men's basketball team travels to the CBE Classic for its first road tilt of the year when it faces Arizona State in Kansas City on Monday at 7 p.m.
WATCH: ESPNU - Mark Jones (Play-by-Play), Len Elmore (Analyst)
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storylines
• The Terps (3-0) dropped Fordham, 66-50, on Thursday night. Freshman Jared Nickens had his first game in double figures with 13 points and Jake Layman added 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Layman is shooting 15-of-20 from the floor through the first three games. Maryland is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
• Arizona State (3-0) defeated Loyola Marymount, 68-44, its last time out. The Sun Devils also have wins over Chicago State and Bethune-Cookman. Shaquielle McKissic leads Arizona State with 10.3 points per game. Eric Jacobsen is posting a team-high nine rebounds per game.
• Maryland made its lone appearance in the CBE Classic during the 2007-08 season. The Terps lost to UCLA, 71-59, in the opening round and then fell to Missouri, 84-70, in the consolation game. As part of the CBE Classic, Maryland also hosted North Florida (79-50 win) and Hampton (70-64 win) in College Park prior to traveling to Kansas City for the games against UCLA and Missouri.
• Maryland and Arizona State are tied 1-1 in the all-time series including a 65-50 win on Dec. 30, 1953 at the All-American City Tournament in Kentucky and a Nov. 23, 1994 loss (90-97) in the Maui Invitational in Hawaii.
Terps win third straight to begin season
• Freshman Jared Nickens had his first game in double figures with 13 points and Maryland won its third straight matchup to open the season with a 66-50 victory over Fordham on Thursday night.
• Jake Layman added 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting for the Terrapins.
• The Terps held the Rams to just 19-of-62 (30.6 percent) from the field. Maryland is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
Wells leads terps past ccsu
• Dez Wells scored 27 points and Jake Layman added 14, leading Maryland to a dominant 93-57 victory over Central Connecticut State Nov. 17.
• Freshmen Dion Wiley and Melo Trimble each had 10 points for the Terrapins. Maryland shot 35-of-63 (55.6 percent) from the field, including 10-of-23 from three-point range. Trimble also finished with a team-high nine rebounds.
• It marked the first time Maryland scored 90 or more points since a 94-71 victory over Virginia Tech in January 2013. It was also the first time the Terps had back-to-back wins by 30 or more points since the 2006-2007 season.
Getting defensive
• Head coach Mark Turgeon has been emphasizing defense all year long and called Maryland's effort on the defensive end 'terrific' vs. Fordham.
• Maryland is second in the Big Ten in field goal pct. defense (.309) and third in scoring defense (51.7), three-point FG pct. (.224) and defensive rebounds (29.7).
Season Preview: Terps Think B1G in 2014-15
• With a top-10 recruiting class and his most experienced team in four years as head coach at Maryland, Mark Turgeon has the Terrapins poised for its inaugural season in the Big Ten Conference.
• Maryland, which finished 17-15 last season, boasts a balanced team featuring a mix of veteran leadership and key newcomers. Among the leaders is 2013 ACC-All Conferece and USBWA All-District III selection Dez Wells, who changed his number to 44 to honor a deceased former teammate for his senior season. Wells is joined by seniors Evan Smotrycz and Jon Graham and sophomore Damonte Dodd in the frontcourt, in addition to junior Jake Layman on the wing.
• Turgeon also hauled in the ninth-best recruiting class in the nation according to Scout.com, showcasing McDonald's All-American point guard Melo Trimble (Upper Marlboro, Md.), shooting guard Dion Wiley (Oxon Hill, Md.), guard Jared Nickens (Monmouth Junction, N.J.) and forward Michal Cekovsky (Slovakia, Europe).
Scouting arizona state
• Arizona State (3-0) defeated Loyola Marymount, 68-44, its last time out. The Sun Devils also have wins over Chicago State and Bethune-Cookman.
• Shaquielle McKissic leads Arizona State with 10.3 points per game. Eric Jacobsen is posting a team-high nine rebounds per game.
• Maryland and Arizona State are tied 1-1 in the all-time series including a 65-50 win on Dec. 30, 1953 at the All-American City Tournament in Kentucky and a Nov. 23, 1994 loss (90-97) in the Maui Invitational in Hawaii.
Wells selected to Wooden award preseason top 50
• Dez Wells has been selected as a member of the Wooden Award Preseason Top-50, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Nov. 17. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the sport's most prestigious honor.
• Wells averaged 14.8 points per game last season to lead the Terrapins en route to earning all-conference third-team honors. The Raleigh, N.C., native also averaged 4.3 rebounds per game and shot 48 percent from the field.
• He scored his 1,000th point as a Terrapin in a 27-point showing against Central Connecticut State Nov. 17.
Williams set to enter National collegiate hall of fame
• Former men's basketball head coach Gary Williams has been selected as a 2014 inductee to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
• A former Terrapin point guard and 1968 graduate, Williams was a starter under coach Bud Millikan during the 1965, 1966 and 1967 seasons. He was the team captain as a senior and began his coaching career as a graduate student at Maryland under coach Tom Davis in 1969.
• With 14 NCAA Tournament berths, seven Sweet Sixteen appearances, a pair of consecutive Final Four showings, and the 2002 National Championship in his 22 seasons as head coach (1989-2011), Williams left quite a mark on Maryland basketball history.
• Williams, who was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August 2014, returned to the University of Maryland in September 2014 in a senior role overseeing athletics fundraising and spearheading university-wide alumni outreach.
On layman's terms
• Junior Jake Layman is adjusting nicely to his role as the Terp's starting power forward this season.
• Layman was steady across the board for Maryland against Wagner, scoring 16 points, grabbing nine boards and dishing six assists in the Terps' home opener. He put up 14 points and added a pair of steals in Maryland's win against Central Connecticut State.
• The Wrentham, Mass., native is averaging 14 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. He is 15-of-20 from the floor through the first three games.
Wells Named One of Sporting News' Top Dunkers
• Senior Dez Wells was named one of Sporting News' top 10 collegiate dunkers heading into the 2014-15 season.
• According to SN, Wells' upside is 'athleticism, aggression and speed' and his area of expertise is 'momentum.'
• Wells, who was ranked seventh, joined fellow Big Ten players Sam Thompson (Ohio State) and Branden Dawson (Michigan State) on the list..
Turgeon, Maryland Ready for Kansas City
• Maryland is ready for an exciting three-day stint in Kansas City which includes billboards and homecomings.
Head coach Mark Turgeon is anticipating a large contingent of 50 family members and friends in attendance for the CBE Classic.
• Turgeon, who grew up approximately 60 miles from Kansas City in Topeka, last time coached in Kansas City during the Big 12 Conference Championships in his final season with Texas A&M (2010-11). His parents - father Bob Turgeon and mother Linda Wittman - brother Jim Turgeon, and sisters, Cindi Smith, and, Jennifer Finley, will be in attendance along with his high school (Hayden) head coach Ben Meseke.
• In addition, billboards have been placed on southbound 1-35 and downtown Kansas City, two blocks from the Sprint Center, to commemorate legendary Maryland coach Gary Williams induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
trimble named to cousy watch list
• Maryland freshman guard Melo Trimble has been named to the watch list of candidates for the 2015 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced.
• Trimble, a 6-3 guard from Upper Marlboro, Md., was a McDonald's All-American and the No. 1-ranked player in the state of Maryland before arriving to College Park. Trimble averaged 23.1 points at Bishop O'Connell High School as a senior and was tagged the 2014 Washington Post All-Metro Player of the Year.
Meet the Newcomers
• Head coach Mark Turgeon and the Terps welcomed the ninth-ranked recruiting class in the nation according to ESPN.com and Scout.com for the 2014-15 season. The class includes McDonald's All-American Melo Trimble, Dion Wiley, Jared Nickens and Michael Cekovsky.
• In addition, Maryland added transfers Richaud Pack (NC A&T) and Robert Carter, Jr. (Georgia Tech). Carter will miss the 2014-15 campaign due to NCAA transfer rules.
Wells Returns for Senior Campaign
• Senior Dez Wells - a Third Team All-ACC pick by both the media and coaches' polls last season - returns to lead the Terps in 2014-15.
• Wells, who also earned All-District III honors from the USBWA, did it all for the Terps in 2013-14, leading the team with 14.9 points per game on 48 percent shooting. He scored double-figures in all but four games, including 15 of his last 16 outings. Wells was also first on the team in total assists (69), blocks (27) and free throw percentage (.817).
• Wells earned First Team All-ACC Tournament honors in 2013 after averaging 22.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in three games. He poured in 30 points on 9-of-13 shooting to down No. 2 Duke in the ACC Quarterfinals.
Get to Know the Big Ten Conference
- Big Ten has had seven First Team AP All-Americans over the last five years…same as ACC, SEC, Big 12 and Pac 12 COMBINED
- Big Ten has had two of the past five Wooden Award winners
- Big Ten has more NCAA Tournament appearances over last five years than any conference (31)
- Big Ten has more Sweet 16 appearances over last five years than any conference (16)…SEC is second closest with 10
- Big Ten leads all conferences with nearly 5 million alumni and more than 460,000 students.
Wiley Excels on Goodwill Tour
• Freshman Dion Wiley performed as one of the top players as he traveled across Europe with Global Sports Academy's 2014 Men's Basketball Goodwill tour this past summer.
• Wiley has led his squad is scoring in each of the first four contests against various European opposition. Wiley was the only Terrapin on a team that also included players from NC State and Mount St. Mary's.
Graham, Smotrycz Have B1G Perspective
• Maryland seniors Jon Graham and Evan Smotrycz are quite familiar with the Terrapins' new conference as both competed at Big Ten programs before landing at the University of Maryalnd.
• Graham spent the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons at Penn State where he appeared in 59 games, making 10 starts. He served a redshirt season in 2010-11.
• Smotrycz spent his first two seasons at the University of Michigan. As a rookie, he won Michigan's Sxith Man Award, playing in all 35 games for the Wolverines. He helped Michigan to a share of its first Big Ten regular-season title since 1985-86 as a sophomore.
ESPN Names XFINITY Center Top 10 Court Design
• ESPN has named XFINITY Center as one of the top 10 court designs in college basketball. Maryland landed at No. 8 on the list.
• In total, three members of the Big Ten made the cut, including Indiana's Assembly Hall at No. 1 and Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena at No. 10.
• According to the breakdown, posted on ESPN.com, XFINITY Center was lauded for its “clean design.”
