The Maryland Terrapins have some rosy postseason prospects this March. They are a No. 4 seed, taking on upset-minded Grand Canyon, to begin a potential run through the NCAA Tournament. However, the Terps have much to prove as they haven’t reached the Final Four since their gleaming moment in the sun.
In case you forgot, that moment came in 2002, the year Maryland won its first and only National Championship. Since then, the world has had 22 full college basketball seasons. People have forgotten how great the 2001-02 Maryland Terrapins were. During that season, they were coached by Gary Williams, the winningest in program history.
He had guided the Terps to eight previous NCAA Tournament showings. However, the 2002 team was his most talented yet. The year before, the school reached the Final Four for the first time. They fell short of Duke. However, a solid core was put in place, and gained experience. Four future NBA players made it to the 2002 title. The bunch was headlined by Juan Dixon.
Dixon posted one of the most dominant single-season campaigns by any guard since 2000. He averaged 20 points a night. His stellar play made him a First-Team All-American and the ACC Player of the Year. His conference-leading 2.6 steals per game also made a conference All-Defense team selection.
Accompanying Dixon were Lonny Baxter and Chris Wilcox in the middle. The duo combined for 27.2 points per game, both top 100 high school recruits. The last NBA player was notable sharpshooter, playmaker, and tough guy Steve Blake. The team also had inside scoring guard Byron Moulton. Drew Nichols and big men Tahj Holden and Ryan Randle came off the bench and produced solid minutes.
Nichols was a great shooter on a team that ripped nets from downtown. The team’s 37.4 percent from beyond the arc ranked 53rd in the country. They had an early season win streak of eight games from November to early December. Then, they had a 12-game winning streak to end the regular season. The streak saw them take down No. 21 Wake Forest, No. 8 Virginia, and No. 1 Duke, led by Carlos Boozer, Jay WIlliams, and Mike Dunleavy Jr.
To start postseason play, Maryland entered the ACC Tournament as the No.2 team in the nation and the league’s top-seeded squad. In the Quarterfinals against Florida State, the Terps blew out the Seminoles by 26 points, 85-59. The lopsided victory would set a precedent for the rest of March. However, they would then suffer their only postseason setback in the ACC Semifinals.
Against North Carolina State, Maryland was battling in a close contest all game long. At halftime, NC State led 40-38. The second half was also tight. Unfortunately, Maryland suffered their seventh ACC Semifinal loss in the last eight league tournaments. The biggest issue was that Juan Dixon went ice-cold. He scored only 13 points on 6-for-16 shooting. Steve Blake chipped in with a 21-point double-double. The Wolfpack were the ACC’s best free-throw shooting team, but they missed several foul shots over the last seven minutes, which kept Maryland in the game.
NC State’s Julius Hodge nailed a 3-pointer to give his team the lead. Juan Dixon had the ball in his hands during the last 30 seconds of the game. On the Terps' last two possessions, Dixon threw the ball away and then missed an off-balance jumper. Maryland lost 86-82.
It was a tough break for the squad. In retrospect, it seemed as if this loss only pushed the team to bring its A-game for the big dance. The 2002 Terrapins would go on to have one of the more dominant tournament runs by any title-winning team ever. The team would enter the tournament as the top seed in the East Region. Their first opponent was 16th-seeded Siena.
Siena won the MAAC Tournament title despite finishing seventh in the conference during the regular season. They got their way in through the 16-seed play-in game against Alcorn State. The Saints had a losing record entering the game and they were completely overmatched. Juan Dixon rebounded from his rough NC State outing by dropping 29 points on 59 percent shooting in an 85-70 win. Steve Blake also added 11 points while leading the team with 11 assists. Lonny Baxter also scored 14 points and recorded nine boards.
Next, was a date with 8th-seeded Wisconsin from the Big Ten. The Badgers had won the league's regular season title but got bounced by Iowa in the Quarterfinals. Despite an okay record, they still were able to get in the tournament. In the first round, they dispatched St. John's by 10. In this match, Wisconsin stood no chance against the Terps.
Maryland led by eight points at halftime but in the second half, the Terrapins ran away. They outscored the opposition by 22 points to race towards an 87-57 victory. Juan Dixon, Lonny Baxter, and Chris Wilcox combined for 63 points and each had great efficiency. As they moved on to the Sweet 16, Maryland had enjoyed two decisive wins.
However, their opponent, the Kentucky Wildcats of the SEC, was promising a fight. Coached by Tubby Smith, Kentucky blew out Valparaiso before escaping an upset at the hand of Tulsa in the second round. Kentucky, the No.4 seed in the East Region, delivered on the set expectations as they trailed by only six points at the half, 39-33.
In the second half, Maryland scored another 39 points and got some help from missed Wildcat free throws. Despite, Kentucky giving a decent challenge, they would still lose by 10 points, 78-68. Four of the five starters for the Terps reached double figures in scoring, including Byron Mouton. He poured in 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting. Drew Nichols also nailed a couple of 3-point shots and scored eight points.
Next up was UConn in the Elite 8. On the way to their meeting with the Terps, the Huskies won the Big East regular season and conference As the No.2 seed in the East Region, they easily beat Hampton, survived a scare against North Carolina State, and then took down Southern Illinois by 12 points. Despite Caron Butler going off and scoring 32 points, UConn didn't have much help outside of him.
At halftime, the Terrapins led 44-37. Even though UConn was outscored by just one point in the second half, the damage was done. Maryland won by eight points, 90-82. This was the smallest margin of victory in a single game for Maryland in the tournament. Dixon did his usual thing, dropping 27 points on nearly 56 percent shooting.
However, Lonnie Baxter became the first Maryland player in the run other than Dixon to score at leat 20 points in a game. Baxter scored 29 points on 58 percent shooting. The defense only allowed just two other Huskies players get into double figures in scoring. With the win, Maryland reached the Final Four for the second straight season.
In the National Semifinal, Maryland had to get past Kansas. The Jayhawks were the top seed in the Midwest Region and blazed through three of their first four opponents. Rock Chalk was led by a stacked collection of talent which included Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich, and Drew Gooden. Each of those players would play great, as the trio combined for 47 points.
Jeff Boschee also scored 17 points, albeit on subpar efficiency. Despite the balanced scoring attack, Kansas couldn't stop Dixon. He single-handedly carried his team by scoring 33 points by shooting 10-of-18 from the field and 5-for-11 from beyond the arc. Wilcox had 18 and Mouton scored 12 himself. Also, Tahj Holden added 13 points off the bench. The ACC powerhouse defeated Kansas 97-88
For the first time in school history, Maryland reached the NCAA National Championship game. Standing in their way of accomplyshing their dream was Indiana. The Hoosiers were still getting used to life without the legendary and controversial Bobby Knight. Mike Davis stepped in and led the Hoosiers to the Big Ten regular season title.
As the fifth seed in the South Region, IU beat Utah, UNC Wilmington, Duke, Kent State, and Oklahoma. The team featured a balanced scoring attack that was led by future NBA lottery pick Jared Jeffries. In the National Championship, the Hoosiers were stifled by a relentlessly stingy Terrapins defense. Indiana shot a putrid 34.5 percent from the field.
Dixon was able to tone it down for this game, as he scored 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Baxter recorded a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds. Wilcox was three rebounds short of a double-double of his own and scored 10 points.. The Terps knocked off the perennial college hoops power to claim their first title by a score of 64-52.