North Carolina State University Athletics
First Place Battle: NC State at Maryland
1/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-Compared to the rest of the youthful ACC, Maryland's starting line-up looks like the cast from Grumpy Old Men. That's not to suggest, however, that the Terps are watching Lawrence Welk reruns in their spare time. Even after losing senior stars Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter from last year's national championship team, coach Gary Williams is still fielding the league's oldest and most experienced squad.
And it shows.
Heading into Thursday night's ACC showdown with NC State (11-4, 4-1) at the Comcast Center, the 10th ranked Terrapins (12-4, 5-1) are a half-game ahead of the Wolfpack in the conference standings. Maryland's experience is certainly an asset, especially when it visits hostile environments. In a year when just about everyone else has struggled on the road, the Terps managed to come away with big conference wins at North Carolina and Clemson last week. Five seniors-Steve Blake, Drew Nicholas, Calvin McCall, Tahj Holden and Ryan Randle-made up the starting line-up in both of those games.
"We were starting some freshmen for awhile, but I just kind of thought we could get off to better starts [with seniors]," said Maryland head coach Gary Williams. "We would use that experience that our seniors have and allow the freshmen to look at it before they came into the game off the bench. It's worked out pretty well. Maybe our seniors make a difference on the road. They've been through a lot of tough environments through their careers, so maybe that helps us."
The Comcast Center, which became the new home for Maryland Basketball this year, replacing Cole Field House, will certainly be a tough environment in which to play for an NC State team that has won its last three games. The Wolfpack followed up its first road triumph of the year at Florida State with a pair of emotional victories over Duke and North Carolina last week.
"I think State had just a great week last week in their wins," Williams said. "They certainly are playing well together. This is going to be a great ACC game and hopefully we'll be healthy and ready to go. I certainly think it's going to be a tough game for us."
The last time these two teams met, NC State came away with a stunning 86-82 win in the semifinals of last year's ACC Tournament. It would be the last time Maryland would lose before winning its first national title.
Getting good looks at the basket has been a chore for everyone who has played the Terps this season. With the 6-10 Holden and the 6-9 Randle protecting the pain inside, Maryland is averaging more than seven blocked shots per game, while also holding its opponents to just 35.8 percent shooting from the floor. Offensively, Nicholas, who averages 18.1 points per game, has done a good job of filling the void left by Dixon. Blake, one of the nation's best point guards, is putting up 11.4 points and 6.8 assists per contest.
"They have four senior starters who have been in two Final Fours, guys who have played very prominent roles on two teams that competed for national championships," said Wolfpack head coach Herb Sendek. "They have a very strong senior nucleus that has been complimented with some fresh faces as well."
NC State's lone senior, point guard Cliff Crawford, is coming off the best week of his career. The Winston-Salem native averaged 17 points and six assists in the wins over Duke and North Carolina. The Pack is led by ACC Player of the Week Julius Hodge, who currently ranks as the ACC's No. 1 scorer with an average of 19.5 points per contest. During the current three-game winning streak, Hodge is averaging 23.3 points.
In order to grab sole possession of first place in the league standings, NC State will have to win at Maryland for the first time since 1989, a streak that encompasses 13 consecutive games.
