The Sports Network
By Scott Haynes, College Basketball Editor
DATE & TIME: Wednesday, February 12th, 9:00 p.m. (et).
FACTS & STATS: Site: Leon County Civic Center (12,500) -- Tallahassee,
Florida. Television: Raycom/Jefferson Pilot. Home Record: Maryland 11-2,
Florida St. 9-3. Away Record: Maryland 2-2, Florida St. 1-5. Neutral Record:
Maryland 1-2, Florida St. 1-1. Conference Record: Maryland 6-3, Florida St.
2-7. Series Record: Maryland leads, 21-6.
GAME NOTES: The 16th-ranked Maryland Terrapins were in the driver's seat in
the ACC, but now must fight their way back to successfully defend their
conference crown, as they begin the home stretch of the 2002-03 season, with a
road trip to Tallahassee this evening to take on Florida State. The Terrapins
sat at the top of the league standings a week ago, but back-to-back losses to
Virginia (86-78) and more recently Georgia Tech (90-84), have dropped the
defending national champions into a tie with Duke for second place at 6-3, a
half game behind Wake Forest (6-2). The Seminoles have no lofty expectations
in league play anymore, but would like to continue to improve on their 11-9
record thus far. The ACC road has been a tough one for Leonard Hamilton in his
first season with the Seminoles, as his team has gone just 2-7 in league play,
coming off a heart-breaking 61-60 loss to North Carolina in Chapel Hill on
Saturday. The Terrapins are trying to complete the regular season sweep in
this series, after already posting an 89-62 rout of FSU in College Park on
January 11th. It was the fourth straight win over the 'Noles and the 14th in
the last 15 meetings, overall.
The Terrapins shot just 33.3 percent in the first half and could not mount
enough of a comeback after trailing by eight points at the break, in losing
for the second straight time, this time falling at Georgia Tech. A huge
difference in the game was the disparity at the free-throw line, where
Maryland was just 8-of-11, while the Yellow Jackets were 25-of-31. Despite the
loss, the Terps showed solid scoring balance, with five players netting double
figures. Drew Nicholas led the way with 18 points. Forwards Ryan Randle and
Nik Caner-Medley added 14 points apiece, while guard Steve Blake and center
Tahj Holden chipped in with 10 points each. Scoring points has certainly not
been a problem for the Terrapins this season, as they are second in the ACC
in scoring (81.2 ppg) and first in scoring margin (+15.1) and three-point
accuracy (.386). Nicholas has taken center stage in terms of the offensive
burden this year, as he averages 17.8 ppg (third in the league). Randle is the
team's interior force at 13.4 points and team-high 7.5 rebounds per game,
while the All-American candidate Blake (11.6 ppg) runs the offense to near
perfection, doling out 6.9 apg (second in the conference). Nicholas and Blake
have been lethal from long range this season, combining for 84 of the team's
128 three-pointers thus far.
A late steal by North Carolina followed by a converted free-throw with under
six seconds to play did in the Seminoles at the Smith Center over the weekend.
FSU was perfect from the free-throw line, but got there only five times,
compared to 16-of-24 for UNC in the game. Three Seminoles netted double digits
in the loss, led by Anthony Richardson's 17 points. Benson Callier added 13
points in 20 minutes of action off the bench, while Michael Joiner almost
completed a double-double with his 12 points and team-high eight rebounds.
Florida State's inconsistency in league play can be directly linked to the
team's lack of offensive punch. The Seminoles are dead-last in the ACC in
scoring (69.7 ppg) and three-point shooting (.329), while ranking eighth in
field-goal percentage as a whole (.438). Juco transfer Tim Pickett has been
superb in his first season with the team, as he paces the squad with 17.5 ppg
(fourth in the ACC), while also leading the way on the boards (5.8 rpg).
Despite his point production, Pickett takes far too many shots, as his .381
shooting percentage (119-of-312) would indicate. Richardson is the only other
player in double figures on the year, netting 12.6 ppg, with Joiner (9.7 ppg)
hovering around that mark.
The Seminoles have proved to be a very tough team in their own building. Coach
K and the Blue Devils can certainly testify to that. However, the Terrapins
have let the conference slip through their fingers for the time being and must
perform well down the stretch to get back on top. That will start this evening
with a big win on the road.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Maryland 79, Florida State 74
