The University of Maryland has announced its 2002-03 men's basketball schedule, complete with its annual 16-game schedule in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 11 battles with non-league opposition. The 2002 national champion, Maryland opens a new arena this fall with its first home date being a Nov. 12 exhibition contest on ESPN with the world-renowned Harlem Globetrotters, followed by a second exhibition game at the 17,100-seat Comcast Center and three straight games in the first week of the regular season.
"We are obviously very excited to play in the Comcast Center," said 14th-year head coach Gary Williams, the 2002 ACC Coach of the Year. "It should be as great a home court advantage for us as Cole Field House was for so many years. To be able to open the season with the Globetrotters is a great opportunity for our program and for our fans."
The Comcast Center will open to the public during the first week of October, with annual Midnight Madness festivities planned for the men's and women's basketball teams on the evening of Friday, Oct. 11.
Maryland, 32-4 last season after defeating Indiana 62-54 in the NCAA championship game at the Georgia Dome, will play its home games at the Comcast Center for the upcoming season after 47 historical seasons at storied Cole Field House. The Terps were 15-0 at home last season and won their first ACC regular season title since 1980 by going 15-1 in the league that has produced the last two national champions.
Following an opening week which includes a Nov. 24 regular season opener on ESPN2 with Miami (OH), the Terrapins embark on a two-week slate that likely includes four consecutive matchups with top 35 opponents:
- A rematch of last season's national championship will take place at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis when Maryland faces Indiana in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Dec. 3.
- This season's BB&T Classic at the MCI Center pits Maryland vs. Notre Dame in a Dec. 7 opening game, followed by a bout with either Texas or local co-host George Washington. It is the first time since 1998 that the BB&T includes three returning teams from the NCAA Tournament, and this year's field pits three of the top point guards in the country. Maryland senior Steve Blake was second in the country with 7.9 assists last season, behind Texas sophomore T.J. Ford (8.3). Notre Dame sophomore Chris Thomas was fifth with 7.6 per game.
- Maryland returns to the Comcast Center on Dec. 14 to host Florida in a nationally televised game on CBS.
The non-conference slate is perhaps Maryland's toughest ever and presents the likelihood of four straight non-league regular season games against nationally ranked foes for the first time in Maryland history. According to one summer poll released by ESPN, Indiana was No. 20, Notre Dame was No. 31, Texas was No. 4 and Florida was No. 17.
"We wanted to play a tough schedule this season," said Williams. Blake is the Terps' lone returning starter, and is joined in the lineup by seniors Tahj Holden, Drew Nicholas and Ryan Randle. Four freshmen and JC transfer forward Jamar Smith will be asked to make significant contributions. Added Williams, "We know that we have a young team and in order to prepare for the ACC and postseason, we need to play quality competition early in the year."
Florida's visit to College Park marks the third consecutive season that Maryland has hosted a nationally ranked non-conference team, following Oklahoma in 2001 and Illinois in 2002. The Gators will join seven other opponents in trying to end what has become the nation's longest non-league home court win streak - currently 84 games (dating to its last loss on Dec. 12, 1989) entering the 2002-03 season. The streak that lasted for over 12 seasons at Cole Field House now moves to the Comcast Center.
"I was very proud that we closed Cole Field House with a perfect season last year," said Williams, a former Maryland player who is the only active coach in America to guide his alma mater to back-to-back berths in the Final Four. The 1968 Maryland graduate coached the Terps to a 155-35 home court record in the last 13 years at Cole. "The streak is something that is nice, and is mostly a reflection of having good teams and a consistent home court advantage. Cole was an intimidating place to play. We hope to make Comcast into the same type of atmosphere."
Ranked No. 16 in a summer preseason poll by CBS Sportsline, Maryland will play six more games against ACC schools Duke, Virginia and NC State, which are ranked in ESPN's top 35. Over half of Maryland's 2002-03 schedule will take place against teams returning from 2002 postseason tournaments - NCAA (Duke, Florida, Hampton, Indiana, NC State, Notre Dame, Texas, Wake Forest) or NIT (Virginia, Wagner).
The defending champion Terrapins will play a 27-game regular season schedule in which 26 games - plus both exhibition contests - will be televised on regional or national television. Twelve games plus the exhibition opener against the Globetrotters will be televised nationally on ESPN (4), ESPN2 (2), FOX Sports Net (4), CBS (2) and ABC (1).
The Terps will tip off the second year of FOX Sports Net's Sunday Night Hoops ACC television package, with the first of five appearances when they host Georgia Tech in the ACC opener for both schools. The Comcast Center will play host to the Yellow Jackets on Sunday, Dec. 29. Maryland's lone appearance on ABC comes on Saturday, Jan. 18 when Duke makes its first visit to the Comcast Center. The Terps' second game on CBS comes at Georgia Tech on Sunday, Feb. 9.
Maryland concludes its regular season while appearing in FOX Sunday evening games during three out of four weeks prior to the ACC Tournament, March 13-16, at the Greensboro Coliseum.
11/12/2002 Globetrotters College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) ESPN 8:00 PM
11/19/2002 EA SPORTS All-Stars College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) Comcast 8:00 PM
11/24/2002 Miami (Ohio) College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) ESPN2 5:00 p.m.
11/27/2002 The Citadel College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) Comcast 8:00 PM
11/30/2002 Duquesne College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) RJ 8:00 PM
12/03/2002 Indiana Indianapolis, Ind. (Conseco Fieldhouse) ESPN 9:00 PM
12/07/2002 Notre Dame Washington, D.C. (MCI Center) Raycom/Comcast 3:30 PM
12/08/2002 Geo. Washington or Texas Washington, D.C. (MCI Center) Raycom/Comcast 3:30 PM
12/14/2002 Florida College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) CBS 2:00 PM
12/23/2002 UMBC College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) 8:00 PM
12/29/2002 Georgia Tech College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) FOX Sports Net 5:30 PM
01/04/2003 Wagner College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) RJ 1:00 PM
01/08/2003 Hampton College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) RJ 8:00 PM
01/11/2003 Florida State College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) RJ 1:30 PM
01/15/2003 Wake Forest Winston-Salem, N.C. (Joel Coliseum) RJ 9:00 PM
01/18/2003 Duke College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) ABC 1:30 PM
01/22/2003 North Carolina Chapel Hill, N.C. (Smith Center) ESPN 7:00 PM
01/25/2003 Clemson Clemson, S.C. (Littlejohn Coliseum) RJ 4:00 PM
01/30/2003 NC State College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) RJ 9:00 PM
02/02/2003 Loyola Md College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) RJ 1:00 PM
02/06/2003 Virginia College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) ESPN2 9:00 PM
02/09/2003 Georgia Tech Atlanta, Ga. (Alexander Coliseum) CBS 1:00 PM
02/12/2003 Florida State Tallahassee, Fla. (Leon County Civic Center) RJ 9:00 PM
02/16/2003 Wake Forest College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) FOX Sports Net 8:00 PM
02/19/2003 Duke Durham, N.C. (Cameron Indoor Stadium) ESPN 9:00 PM
02/22/2003 North Carolina College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) RJ 2:00 PM
02/25/2003 Clemson College Park, Md. (Comcast Center) RSN 7:00 PM
03/02/2003 NC State Raleigh, N.C. (Entertainment & Sports Arena) FOX Sports Net 8:00 PM
03/09/2003 Virginia Charlottesville, Va. (University Hall) FOX Sports Net 8:00 PM
03/13/2003 ACC Tournament First Round Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro Coliseum) ESPN/RJ TBA
03/14/2003 ACC Tournament Quarterfinals Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro Coliseum) ESPN/RJ TBA
03/15/2003 ACC Tournament Semifinals Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro Coliseum) ESPN/RJ TBA
03/16/2003 ACC Tournament Championship Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro Coliseum) ESPN/RJ TBA
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Defending National Champs Announce 2002-03 Schedule
