COLLEGE PARK, Md. – After a week off due to Signing Day last week, the umterps Notebook is back with news and information on your Maryland Terrapin athletic teams, including looking at the historic home winning streak by the men's basketball team.
Home Sweet Home
Congratulations are in order for men's basketball coach Mark Turgeon and his Terps who have rattled off a school-record 27 consecutive wins at XFINITY Center.
The streak is one more than the previous record, which was established by Lefty Driesell's teams from 1971-72 into 1973-74. The streak began in Feb. 10, 1979 with a 77-69 win over Clemson.
It lasted until Jan. 14, 1981 when Virginia toppled the Terps, 66-64. The game was tied at 64-64 with six seconds left before Jeff Lamp hit an 18-foot jumper that proved to be the game-winner for the No. 2 Cavaliers. Ernie Graham had a chance to tie it at the buzzer for Maryland, but his 20-footer bounced off of the back of the rim.
That streak and the current one are just two of five home winning streaks to reach at least 20 games in Maryland history.
The first such streak started with the final home game of the 1970-71 season – a 89-84 OT win over Virginia on March 6 – and ended with an 87-85 loss to No. 3 NC State on Jan. 14, 1973. That game was the first college basketball game to be televised on a Super Bowl Sunday (Super Bowl VII which saw Miami complete a 17-0 perfect season with a 14-7 win over the Washington Redskins).
After the then-record setting 26-game winning streak, the next 20+ game home winning streak didn't start until the 1993-94 season with a 70-68 win over Virginia in the regular season finale on March 5. The streak ended at 21 wins with an 88-86 overtime loss to No. 16 North Carolina on Jan. 6, 1996 that saw Tar Heel freshman Antwan Jamison turn a desperation pass from Dante Calabria into the game-winning bucket at the buzzer.
Another 21-game home winning streak began with a 95-66 blowout win over NC State on Feb. 20, 2001 and ended with a 69-64 loss to Florida on Dec. 14, 2002.
20+ Game Home Winning Streaks
Streak: 27 Games
Started: Dec. 6, 2014 – 82-62 v. Winthrop
Ended: TBD
Duration: 431 days and counting
Streak: 26 Games
Started: Feb. 10, 1979 – 77-69 v. Clemson
Ended: Jan. 14, 1981 – 64-66 v. Virginia
Duration: 704 days
Streak: 21 Games
Started: Mar. 6, 1971 – 89-84 OT v. Virginia
Ended: Jan. 14, 1973 – 87-85 v. NC State
Duration: 680 days
Streak: 21 Games
Started: Mar. 5, 1994 – 70-68 v. Virginia
Ended: Jan. 6, 1996 – 86-88 OT v. North Carolina
Duration: 672 days
Streak: 21 Games
Started: Feb. 20, 2001 – 95-66 v. NC State
Ended: Dec. 14, 2002 – 64-69 v. Florida
Duration: 662 days
The Terps will look to extend their home winning streak this Saturday when they welcome Wisconsin to XFINITY Center for a 6:30 p.m. tip.
Women's Hoops Still Alive For B1G Crown
Despite suffering a 94-86 loss at Ohio State on Monday and falling to 0-2 vs. the Buckeyes this season, the Maryland women's basketball team is still in the running for the Big Ten regular season title.
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Both the Buckeyes and Terps have six games remaining in the regular season, but the difference is the home and away games remaining.
Maryland will play four of its final six games at XFINITY Center, where the Terps are 47-3 over their past 50 home games. Ohio State will have to play four of its six remaining games on the road.
Neither team has an especially tough home stretch, but the Buckeyes close the season with a pair of tough road games at Minnesota (8-4 Big Ten) and at Michigan State (9-3 Big Ten).
Lacrosse Season Is Here
It won't even be Valentine's Day before both the Maryland men's and women's lacrosse teams kick off their seasons.
The men's team, which is No. 4 in the initial Inside Lacrosse media poll, will look to earn its 22nd straight season-opening win when it hosts long-time rival Navy on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium (Buy Tickets).
Head coach John Tillman, who has led the Terps to four Final Fours and three NCAA championship games in his first five years in College Park, boasts a squad that returns the 2015 goalkeeper of the year in Kyle Bernlohr, a first-round MLL draft pick in close defenseman Matt Dunn, a 40-goal scorer in attackman Matt Rambo and a midfield that boasts three MLL draft picks in Bryan Cole, Henry West and UMBC transfer Pat Young.
The biggest question mark for the Terps will be at the faceoff X with the graduation loss of All-American Charlie Raffa.
The Midshipmen come into College Park with a 1-1 record already after topping Air Force in their season opener last Saturday and falling in double-overtime to Johns Hopkins, 12-11, on Tuesday night in Annapolis.
The women's lacrosse team is the unanimous No. 1 team in the country in the latest IWLCA rankings and also open its season on Saturday at noon vs. William & Mary at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex (Buy Tickets).
Head coach Cathy Reese's squad is looking for its third straight NCAA championship and boasts three preseason All-Americans, including midfield Taylor Cummings, who is trying to become the first three-time winner of the Tewaaraton Award.
Quick Hitters
• This Sunday marks the 2nd Annual Beauty and the Beast event at XFINITY Center with the Maryland wrestling and gymnastics teams competing side-by-side on the main floor in a unique spectacle at 2 p.m.
The wrestling team squares off against George Mason, while the gymnastics team competes with Big Ten foe Rutgers.
Admission to the event is free.
• The Maryland softball team opens its first season under the guidance of head coach Julie Wright on Friday at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. The Terps will face Boston College in the season opener at 11:30 a.m. ET. Maryland will play 24 games on the road before playing its home opener on Mar. 18 vs. UMass.
• The Terps' indoor track & field team has its final tune-ups before the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 26-27 this weekend with the Navy Meet in Annapolis on Thursday and at the Spire Invitational on Friday.
The Spire Invitational is a key meet for the Terps as it is held in the same venue that will host the Big Ten Championships.
• Congratulations to head coach DJ Durkin and the Maryland football coaching staff on a successful 2016 Signing Day. While stars are not the end-all-be-all of judging a recruiting class (Darrius Kilgo was a 2-star recruit in 2010 and he now has a Super Bowl ring with the Denver Broncos), 17 of Maryland's 18 signees were three- or four-star recruits. The only signee that wasn't rated was punter Wade Lees, who was an Australian Rules Football player before coming to College Park.
• Congratulations to Terp alums Vernon Davis and Darrius Kilgo for helping the Denver Broncos win Super Bowl 50 this past Sunday over the Carolina Panthers.
This is the fourth time in the past five seasons a Terp has won the Super Bowl. Last season saw Joe Vellano win a ring with the New England Patriots. The 2013 Ravens featured Maryland alum Torrey Smith. Da'Rel Scott represented the Terps for the 2012 NY Giants.
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Wrapping Up
That's it for this edition of the umterps Notebook. Don't forget to follow Maryland athletics on all of the social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Patrick Fischer is the Director of Digital Media and Website Management for the University of Maryland Department of Intercollegiate Athletics
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Maryland athletics department or its athletics programs.
