Over the first two months of this season, the Maryland Terrapins have played 12 regular season games, played two preseason exhibitions, raised a national championship banner, and tonight at No. 19 Wake Forest, they will play for the first time on an opponent's home floor.
The 17th-ranked Terrapins (9-3, 2-0 ACC) have won five straight games, finding a successful blend of their five seniors and five newcomers, but they will be tested tonight. In their only previous road trip, the Terrapins lost to No. 18 Indiana, 80-74 in overtime, on Dec. 3 in Indianapolis, a game in which many of their new players struggled.
"The biggest question for us is: Can we do it on the road?" said guard Drew Nicholas, who leads the ACC in scoring at 18.6 points per game.
Maryland's rotation has changed several times since the Indiana loss. Freshman forwards Travis Garrison and Nik Caner-Medley have become starters. Freshman guard Chris McCray, who did not play against the Hoosiers, has earned a regular role off the bench, as has junior college transfer Jamar Smith, a forward.
Those young legs have yielded fast starts. In each of their past three games, the Terrapins have led by at least 16 points in the opening minutes. Such a fast start tonight would help take the crowd out of the game.
"I think the Indiana game definitely was big for [the newcomers] to realize how big games are on the road, how tough it is to win in places like that," senior guard Steve Blake said. "I think they know what to expect. I think they'll be ready for it."
While Garrison and backup point guard John Gilchrist said they know what to anticipate, McCray said he might encounter something new.
"I think I'm in for a rude awakening," said McCray, who has been quite active on the court while averaging 14.8 minutes per game during the winning streak. "It's tough. At home, we played Georgia Tech and Florida State . . . and they played hard. I know Wake Forest is going to play even harder at home."
Coach Gary Williams is encouraged by his team's defensive effort. Maryland leads the ACC in field goal percentage defense (.353), steals (11.7 per game) and blocked shots (7.9 per game), and Williams said he thinks defense will be particularly important for his team tonight.
"You've got to have that toughness when you go on the road," said Williams, whose team has a season-best five-game winning streak but is 0-3 against teams currently in the top 25. "Your intensity level has to come from within. Nobody is going to help you. That's where you really see if you can play good defense. A lot of times, your defense wins more games on the road. Most teams expect to shoot well at home; sometimes you don't shoot as well on the road, [but] you can still win if the defense is good."
Led by forward Josh Howard, Wake Forest (10-1, 1-1) leads the nation by averaging 14.2 more rebounds than its opponents. The Demon Deacons, though, are coming off their first loss, 74-55 at Duke.
"I'm sure that is going to add a little fuel to their fire," Nicholas said.
However, Wake Forest could be at a severe disadvantage tonight because it will be without starting guard Justin Gray, who underwent surgery Monday night to repair a fractured jaw and is expected to miss several games. That leaves the Demon Deacons with only one experienced ballhandler, guard Taron Downey, and Maryland likely will press relentlessly in an effort to exploit this deficiency.
"We're thinking about bringing up a couple guys from Triple-A," Wake Forest Coach Skip Prosser said. "And we checked the waiver wire; that's going to be difficult. . . . We just have to figure out a way to win without him."
? 2003 The Washington Post Company
The 17th-ranked Terrapins (9-3, 2-0 ACC) have won five straight games, finding a successful blend of their five seniors and five newcomers, but they will be tested tonight. In their only previous road trip, the Terrapins lost to No. 18 Indiana, 80-74 in overtime, on Dec. 3 in Indianapolis, a game in which many of their new players struggled.
"The biggest question for us is: Can we do it on the road?" said guard Drew Nicholas, who leads the ACC in scoring at 18.6 points per game.
Maryland's rotation has changed several times since the Indiana loss. Freshman forwards Travis Garrison and Nik Caner-Medley have become starters. Freshman guard Chris McCray, who did not play against the Hoosiers, has earned a regular role off the bench, as has junior college transfer Jamar Smith, a forward.
Those young legs have yielded fast starts. In each of their past three games, the Terrapins have led by at least 16 points in the opening minutes. Such a fast start tonight would help take the crowd out of the game.
"I think the Indiana game definitely was big for [the newcomers] to realize how big games are on the road, how tough it is to win in places like that," senior guard Steve Blake said. "I think they know what to expect. I think they'll be ready for it."
While Garrison and backup point guard John Gilchrist said they know what to anticipate, McCray said he might encounter something new.
"I think I'm in for a rude awakening," said McCray, who has been quite active on the court while averaging 14.8 minutes per game during the winning streak. "It's tough. At home, we played Georgia Tech and Florida State . . . and they played hard. I know Wake Forest is going to play even harder at home."
Coach Gary Williams is encouraged by his team's defensive effort. Maryland leads the ACC in field goal percentage defense (.353), steals (11.7 per game) and blocked shots (7.9 per game), and Williams said he thinks defense will be particularly important for his team tonight.
"You've got to have that toughness when you go on the road," said Williams, whose team has a season-best five-game winning streak but is 0-3 against teams currently in the top 25. "Your intensity level has to come from within. Nobody is going to help you. That's where you really see if you can play good defense. A lot of times, your defense wins more games on the road. Most teams expect to shoot well at home; sometimes you don't shoot as well on the road, [but] you can still win if the defense is good."
Led by forward Josh Howard, Wake Forest (10-1, 1-1) leads the nation by averaging 14.2 more rebounds than its opponents. The Demon Deacons, though, are coming off their first loss, 74-55 at Duke.
"I'm sure that is going to add a little fuel to their fire," Nicholas said.
However, Wake Forest could be at a severe disadvantage tonight because it will be without starting guard Justin Gray, who underwent surgery Monday night to repair a fractured jaw and is expected to miss several games. That leaves the Demon Deacons with only one experienced ballhandler, guard Taron Downey, and Maryland likely will press relentlessly in an effort to exploit this deficiency.
"We're thinking about bringing up a couple guys from Triple-A," Wake Forest Coach Skip Prosser said. "And we checked the waiver wire; that's going to be difficult. . . . We just have to figure out a way to win without him."
? 2003 The Washington Post Company
