Maryland Terrapins men's basketball

Before basketball became a permanent fixture in College Park, the school—then known as Maryland Agricultural College—met with little success in its intermittent attempts to establish a basketball team. A team first appeared in 1904–05, playing only two games in an intramural/club setting. Games were played sporadically during the 1910–1911, 1912–13, 1913–1914, and the 1918–1919 seasons, going a combined 7–36. Basketball returned to stay for the 1923–24 season, when the school convinced former star quarterback H. Burton Shipley, who had been coaching at the University of Delaware, to come back to his alma mater. The Old Liners, as they were then known, joined the Southern Conference in their inaugural season. The team met with moderate success that year at 5–7 and also played its first games against future ACC rivals North Carolina and Virginia. The Old Liners had their first sustained success over the next four seasons, finishing at or above .500 in each of them and putting together an outstanding 24–9 record against Southern Conference foes. The Aggies also played their first games against what would become their two other biggest rivals in the future during that time, North Carolina State and Duke.

The school's biggest success during its formative years took place in the early 1930s, around the time it adopted its current nickname, Terrapins. After finishing second in the conference in 1930–31, Maryland won the Southern Conference tournaments, beating Louisiana State, North Carolina, Georgia, and Kentucky over five days, a feat they followed by winning the conference regular season crown the next year. The team also had its first individual star in Louis "Bosey" Berger who was named to All-America teams both seasons. It was during this stretch that the school erected a new home for its basketball teams, Ritchie Coliseum, which housed the team until Cole Field House replaced it a quarter of a century later.

Although the team would remain competitive throughout the rest of the decade, finishing as high as second in the conference regular season, it never again matched its achievements of the early part of the decade, and as the 1940s began, the school's basketball team fell on exceedingly hard times. Shipley tallied just one winning season in his last seven years before stepping down to focus on coaching the baseball team, a post he'd held for his entire tenure since returning to College Park. He was succeeded by Flucie Stewart. In what would become a long-running pattern at Maryland when a long-tenured head coach stepped down, Stewart would not last very long, putting together three losing seasons in three tries during his brief time at Maryland.

The 1950s began with a new head coach leading the way, Bud Millikan. A disciple of legendary coach Henry Iba, Millikan's emphasis on defense and fundamentals would become hallmarks of the program over the next two decades. Maryland quickly reeled off seven straight winning seasons under Millikan. For the 1953–54 season, the team joined North Carolina, North Carolina State, Duke, Wake Forest, Virginia, Clemson, and South Carolina in leaving the SoCon for the newly formed Atlantic Coast Conference. That season was perhaps the finest the Terrapins had experienced to date, finishing with a 23–7 record and a conference mark good enough for second in the league. Maryland experienced its first games as a ranked team, spending the final nine weeks of the season ranked in the AP Top 20, peaking at #11 before settling for a final ranking of #20. It also featured the school's first win over a ranked team when it beat local rival George Washington, then-number 7 in the country. The team was led by its second All-American, Gene Shue, who was honored in both that season and the prior year.

After that season, the team remained the only school outside of the North Carolina "Big Four" – Duke, UNC, North Carolina State, and Wake Forest – to consistently field competitive teams. In the ACC's second year, the Terps cracked the top ten for the first time, peaking at #6 in January before eventually finishing the season with a disappointing one-point loss to Virginia in the ACC Tournament quarterfinal round.

The Terps had another breakout season during the 1957–58 season. After a good regular season (17–6, 4th in the ACC), Maryland stunned the league by winning the ACC Tournament, including wins over #6 Duke and #13 North Carolina on back to back days to capture the title as well as the league's berth in the NCAA Tournament. The team routed Boston College 86–63 at Madison Square Garden with just two days of rest after the ACC Tournament, advancing to the East Regionals in Charlotte. The Terps lost a tight game to Temple in the round of 16 before beating Manhattan in the consolation game to secure third place in the East.

That would be the high-water mark for the Terps under Millikan. They experienced their first losing season under the coach the next season, although they did manage to finish third in the ACC, including its first ever win over a #1 ranked team when it beat North Carolina 69–51 in Cole Field House on February 21. By 1962–63, the bottom had dropped out and the Terps finished just 3–11 in the ACC, next to last in the standings. While Millikan managed to turn the program around in the mid-1960s, finishing in a second place tie in 1964–65 and above .500 overall again the next season, the feeling in College Park was that the game had passed the coach by, and he was replaced after the following season by assistant Frank Fellows. Fellows' tenure lasted just two seasons, both of which featured only eight wins.

In 1969, Charles "Lefty" Driesell was hired by the University of Maryland. During his introductory press conference, he made the bold statement that he wanted to make Maryland the "UCLA of the East." At that time, UCLA was the nation's dominant college basketball program. While Driesell did not elevate Maryland to UCLA's heights, he did lead the Terrapins to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, a National Invitation Tournament championship, two Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championships, and one Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship. Maryland also attained a No. 2 Associated Press ranking during four consecutive seasons from 1972 to 1976.

Driesell coached the Maryland Terrapins from 1969 to 1986. During his tenure, he successfully recruited numerous exceptional players, including Tom McMillen, Len Elmore, John Lucas, Albert King, Buck Williams, and Len Bias. In 1974, he signed perhaps the best college prospect of his career, future basketball Hall of Famer Moses Malone, but Malone chose instead to go to a professional basketball franchise, the Utah Stars. Malone was the first player in the modern era to proceed directly from high school into professional basketball, deciding on the day classes were scheduled to begin.

At Maryland, Driesell began the now nationwide tradition of Midnight Madness. According to longstanding NCAA rules, college basketball teams were not permitted to begin practices until October 15. Driesell traditionally began the first practice with a requirement that his players run one mile in six minutes, but found that the players were too fatigued to practice effectively immediately afterwards. At 12:03 a.m. on October 15, 1971, Driesell held a one-mile run at the track around Byrd Stadium, where a crowd of 1,000 fans had gathered after learning of the unorthodox practice session.[5] The event soon became a tradition to build excitement for the basketball team's upcoming season.

In 1972, Maryland defeated Niagara, 100–69 to secure the National Invitation Tournament championship. Driesell said that the season attained the three goals he had set for the program at the time of his hiring: "national prominence", "national ranking", and "a national championship".

On July 12, 1973, Driesell saved the lives of at least ten children from several burning buildings. He and two other men were surf fishing around midnight in Bethany Beach, Delaware when he saw flames coming from a seashore resort. Driesell broke down a door and rescued several children from the fire that eventually destroyed four townhouses. An eyewitness, Prince George's County circuit court Judge Samuel Meloy, said, "Let's face it, Driesell was a hero. There were no injuries and it was a miracle because firemen didn't come for at least 30 minutes." Driesell said, "Don't build me up as any kind of hero. All we did was try to get the kids out. It was just lucky that we were fishing right in front of the houses." [6] For these actions, Driesell was awarded the NCAA Award of Valor.

In 1974, the No. 4 Terrapins played in what many consider one of the greatest college basketball games of all time, losing the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament 103–100 in overtime to eventual national champion and No. 1 North Carolina State. Each team only played seven players each, and eight of those 14 went on to be NBA Draft picks, including six from Maryland. The game included 91 field goals made on 157 attempts between the teams, in spite of top-level defense being played. "We didn’t score 100 points or they didn’t because we were sorry defensive teams. (N.C. State) had a 7-foot-4 center" in Tommy Burleson, said Lefty Driesell. "We had (Len) Elmore, who was one of the best shot-blockers ever to play in the league."[7] After the game, the Greensboro, N.C. crowd, traditionally unfriendly to non-North Carolina ACC teams, gave both teams a standing ovation. After the loss, Maryland declined an invitation to the NIT. Maryland's team was considered by many to be the greatest team not to have participated in the NCAA tournament because, at the time, only the winner of a conference tournament would earn a bid. It was Maryland's exclusion that finally forced an expansion to allow at-large bids and more than one team per conference.

Driesell's legacy will forever be tied to one of Maryland's greatest players and one of the best college basketball players of all time, Len Bias, who played under Driesell from 1982 to 1986. As a freshman, Bias was viewed as "raw and undisciplined," but ultimately developed into an All-American player who impressed basketball fans with his amazing leaping ability, his physical stature and his ability to create plays, and was considered one of the most dynamic players in the nation. In 1984, Driesell and Bias led the team to the school's second ACC Tournament Championship. In Bias's junior year, he led the ACC in scoring, was named the ACC Player of the Year, and was a consensus second-team All-American while averaging 18.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. His senior season was highlighted by his performance in an overtime victory against top-ranked North Carolina in which he scored 35 points, including 7 in the last 3 minutes of regulation and 4 in overtime. At the end of the year, Bias collected his second ACC Player of the Year award and was a consensus first-team All American while averaging 23.2 points and 7 rebounds per game. Scouts from various NBA teams viewed Bias as the most complete forward in the class of 1986 and was widely considered to be of equal talent to Michael Jordan, who played at North Carolina from 1981 to 1984.[8] "Over the years, you’ve heard a lot of people say it was that jumper that separated him from Michael Jordan — and could have potentially made him a better player than Jordan in the pros," said Keith Gatlin, who was the starting point guard on the school's 1985-1986 team and lived with Bias.[9] Together, Bias and Driesell made four straight NCAA tournaments, making the Sweet 16 in 1984 and 1985.

On June 19, 1986, Bias tragically died of a cocaine-induced heart attack shortly after being drafted by the Boston Celtics as the No. 2 overall selection. An investigation revealed that Bias was 21 credits short of the graduation requirement despite having used all his athletic eligibility. In October, a university panel found that the basketball staff had stressed athletics over academics. On October 29, Driesell resigned as head coach and took a position as an assistant athletic director. He also worked as a television analyst during college basketball games. Some members of the media widely described Driesell as a scapegoat of chancellor John B. Slaughter and the university administration.[10][11]

In 2018, Coach Driesell was finally inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.[12]

The Maryland Terrapins announced Maryland alumnus Gary Williams as its next head coach on June 13, 1989. The basketball program and the Maryland athletic program as a whole were still reeling from the aftershock of the 1986 death of Maryland basketball star Len Bias and struggles under coach Bob Wade, a former high school coach from Baltimore. Williams was coming off a successful stint at Ohio State featuring one NCAA tournament appearance and two NIT appearances in three seasons. Williams played for Maryland as the starting point guard under coach Bud Millikan. He was a member of the 1966 Charlotte Invitational Tournament championship team and the 1965 Sugar Bowl Tournament championship team. He set a Maryland record for field goal percentage, going 8-for-8 from the field in an ACC game against South Carolina in 1966. (35 years later a Williams pupil, Lonny Baxter, would break that record, hitting all ten of his field goal attempts.) Williams was the Maryland team captain in 1967. He graduated in 1968 with a B.S. in Marketing.

Williams coached the 1989–90 squad to a respectable 18–13 record and an NIT berth. However, in March 1990, the NCAA imposed harsh sanctions on the school for several violations, mostly dating to the Wade era. Maryland was banned from postseason play in 1991 and 1992, and was kicked off live television for 1990–91. Additionally, Maryland docked itself several scholarships over two years. With his recruiting efforts severely hamstrung, Williams found it very difficult to rebuild the program. However, with the help of Walt Williams, Maryland stayed competitive through a low point of the program's history.

After a surprise appearance in the 1994 Sweet 16, the Terrapins were a fixture in the national rankings until 2005. Maryland's teams during this era featured future NBA players such as Joe Smith, Steve Francis, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Juan Dixon, Steve Blake, Lonny Baxter, Terence Morris, and Chris Wilcox, and a cast of supportive role players, exemplified by Byron Mouton.

In 2001, Williams led Maryland to the first Final Four in school history, losing to Duke in the semifinals despite leading by as much as 22 points in the first half and being up by 11 at half. Maryland fans largely attribute the loss to several controversial fouls that limited the Terps' defense, including a phantom fifth foul on Lonnie Baxter with 2:48 remaining. The Final Four loss to Duke was the fourth meeting between the two schools during the season, which included each team winning on the other's home court. Duke's win at Cole Field House is known as the "Gone in 54 Seconds" game, after Duke came back to win despite being down 10 points with under a minute left. The Terps got their revenge by winning on Shane Battier's senior night at Cameron Indoor Stadium before losing to Duke by two points in the ACC tournament semifinals on a tip-in shot with 1.3 seconds remaining.

On April 1, 2002, Williams led the Terrapins to their first NCAA National Championship, defeating Indiana 64–52. Maryland's historic run included wins against four straight former champions, including Kentucky in the Sweet 16, UConn in the Elite Eight, and Kansas in the Final Four. Williams was the first coach to win a national championship without a single McDonald's All American on the roster since its inception. He became the first coach to direct his alma mater to a national title since Norm Sloan accomplished the feat with North Carolina State in 1974. The 2002 team also won a school-record 32 games, as well as the school's first outright ACC title in 22 years—only the third time since 1981 that a team from North Carolina hadn't won at least a share of the title. Senior Juan Dixon was named the 2002 NCAA Final Four MVP, ACC Player of the Year, and finished his career as the school's all-time scoring leader. Steve Blake also produced what Maryland fans remember as the "Oh He Steal" game, when Blake memorably stole the ball from Duke's Jay Williams and scored just before halftime in front of a raucous home crowd. 2001-2002 was also the Terps' final season in historic Cole Field House, with Maryland going undefeated at their long-time home.

In 2004, having slipped to 7–9 in the ACC (the team's first sub-.500 conference record in more than a decade), the Terps upset the tournament's top three seeds to win its first ACC Tournament title since 1984. In knocking off No. 15 Wake Forest (3 seed), No. 17 NC State (2), and No. 5 Duke (1), tournament MVP John Gilchrist dazzled. Gilchrist scored 16 points against a Chris Paul-led Wake Forest team, led a 21-point comeback against NC State by scoring 23 of his 30 points after halftime, and poured in another 26 points in a memorable 95–87 overtime victory over Duke in the final. Maryland's championship ended Duke's streak of five straight ACC championships.

In the 2004–05 season, Maryland failed to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 1993–1994 season, which was then the longest streak in the ACC. This began a relatively mediocre stretch for Maryland, where they failed to make the tournament three out of the next five years. Maryland's best team in these years was 2006–07, when the team finished 25–9 (10–7 ACC) and ranked No. 18 in the final AP poll. Led by the once highly touted senior class of DJ Strawberry, Mike Jones, Ekene Ibekwe, and Will Bowers, along with precocious freshman Greivis Vasquez, the Terps beat a Stephen Curry-led Davidson squad in the first round of the NCAA tournament before narrowly missing the Sweet 16 when they fell to Butler 59–62, which shot 12-26 (46%) from 3. The 06-07 squad memorably beat Duke twice and won what many fans consider one of the loudest games at the then-named Comcast Center when they beat No. 5 North Carolina.

The 2009–10 Terrapins brought the swagger (and the shimmy) back to College Park when they won a share of the regular-season conference title with Duke. Senior Greivis Vasquez won ACC Player of the Year and consensus second team All American honors as he climbed to No. 2 all time in points and assists at Maryland, while Williams earned his second ACC Coach of the Year award. The season's highlights included Cliff Tucker's buzzer beating three pointer to defeat Georgia Tech at home (after Coach Williams called a timeout that unintentionally nullified what would have been a game-winning three by Vasquez) and a win over eventual national champion Duke on Vasquez's senior night. The Terrapins earned a 4 seed in the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Tournament, where they handily beat Houston 89–77 in the first round. In the second round Maryland faced a tough 5th seeded Michigan State, coached by Tom Izzo and led on the court by Kalin Lucas and future NBA star Draymond Green. Behind Vasquez's 26 points, Maryland stormed back from 17 points down in the second half to take the lead in the final seconds before MSU's Korie Lucious hit a heartbreaking buzzer beater to sink the Terrapins 85–83. The loss especially hurt after the top seed in the region, Kansas, lost to 9 seed Northern Iowa, which opened a clear path to the Final Four. The 2009–2010 team was to be the last great Gary Williams team. The following season a group of promising freshmen and veteran holdovers from the 2009–2010 team failed to replicate the success of the prior season and the Terrapins struggled to a 19–14 mark, failing to make the post-season altogether for the first time since 1993.

On May 5, 2011, Gary Williams announced his decision to retire from coaching basketball. He remains involved with the Maryland athletic department as Assistant Athletic Director and Special Assistant to the Athletic Director. Gary Williams will always be treasured and remembered for saving his alma mater from the doldrums of the post-Bias era years and eventually building Maryland into a national champion. In honor of his legendary career, Maryland named its hardwood at the Xfinity Center “Gary Williams Court.” In 2014, Coach Williams was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Turgeon had built a very respectable mid major program at Wichita State but ended with a disappointing year before beginning a successful spell in College Station with the Aggies in 2007.

Prior to his last year at Texas A&M, Turgeon had negotiated a contract extension and salary increase. On May 9, 2011 at 8pm, Turgeon met with his coaching staff and players to inform them that half an hour earlier he accepted the head coach position at the University of Maryland. He had visited the campus earlier that day and left with an offer. When asked about his decision at an Aggie Athletics press conference, he said "Maryland's got a great basketball tradition. [Texas A&M and Maryland are] real similar. It's a gut feeling." In their meeting earlier that night he told the Aggie players "it was the hardest decision [he] ever had to make... because of [them]." Turgeon said that fan attendance at A&M did not factor into his decision.

Since his arrival, Maryland students have adopted the phrase 'Fear the Turgeon,' a play on the school's motto, 'Fear the Turtle.' Some students, known as the "Turgeonites", have created a fan club for the coach and dress like him on game days.

Turgeon inherited an average roster featuring hardworking forward James Padgett, the well rounded Sean Mosley, sophomore point guard Pe'Shon Howard, and volume scorer Terrell Stoglin. Turgeon and his staff secured 4 star Baltimore freshman Nick Faust and the Ukrainian big man Alex Len. Turgeon captured his first win as the University of Maryland Head Coach on November 13, 2011 by defeating UNC Wilmington at the Comcast Center 71–62. Maryland struggled throughout the season and finished with a 17–15 overall record and a 6–10 mark in the ACC.

The 2012–13 team was a young team. Veteran Sean Mosley graduated and leading scorer Terrell Stoglin left the program. In the first example of what would become a Mark Turgeon staple, he cobbled together a roster with transfers and freshman and led the Terrapins to 25 wins and the NIT Semifinals. Alex Len became a breakout star averaging 11.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, eventually being drafted 5th overall by the Phoenix Suns following the season. Xavier transfer Dez Wells would become a star in his three years in College Park. He led the team in scoring with 13.1 a game.

Following Alex Len's decision to leave for the NBA, the Terps struggled through what would be their final ACC season falling back to a 17–15 record. In their final ACC regular season game, the Terrapins defeated the 5th ranked Virginia Cavaliers 75–69 in OT at the Comcast Center.

In November 2012 ESPN reported that the University of Maryland, a charter member of the ACC, was in "serious negotiations" to join the Big Ten. Yahoo! Sports confirmed the news, and added that Big East Conference member Rutgers University was also in advanced talks to join the Big Ten.

These reports noted that the Big Ten's then-current first-tier media rights deal was set to expire in 2017, and the conference was preparing for negotiations on a new deal. Both potential new members offered access to large new media markets for the conference. The ESPN report stated that Maryland was somewhat torn over the possible move from the ACC to the Big Ten. Two key players for Maryland in the negotiations, president Wallace Loh and athletic director Kevin Anderson, did not have ACC ties, and Loh was a former provost of Big Ten member Iowa. However, the chancellor of the University System of Maryland (USM) that ultimately oversees the school, Brit Kirwan, had been on the College Park campus for 30 years and, according to ESPN, had a strong affinity for the ACC. In addition, one of the Maryland regents told ESPN that Under Armour founder and major Maryland athletic booster Kevin Plank was "100 percent" behind a Big Ten move, and was heavily lobbying regents. On November 19, the Maryland regents voted to accept the Big Ten's offer, and the Big Ten presidents unanimously approved Maryland's entry later that day. The Terrapins officially joined in July 2014.

The athletic department was not in a strong financial position at the time. In July 2012, Maryland dropped seven varsity teams due to a deficit reported by The Washington Post as $4 million. In addition, the ACC voted earlier in 2012 to increase its exit fee to $50 million; the only two members to vote against the increase were Maryland and Florida State. Sources at Maryland believed that the school would be able to negotiate the buyout downward.

The 2014–15 Terrapins were led by senior star Dez Wells and freshman sensation Melo Trimble. Maryland won their first Big Ten basketball game in a 68–66 double overtime thriller at Michigan State. Maryland finished their first Big Ten season with a 14–4 record, finishing second. Turgeon was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. Maryland was selected as a 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In the First Round Maryland defeated #13 Valparaiso 65–62. In the second round the Terps faced fifth seeded West Virginia and lost 69–59 after Melo Trimble got knocked out of the game with a concussion. Trimble was named a second-team All American by The Sporting News, and both he and Wells were named first team Big Ten.

The 2015–16 Terrapins entered the season with high expectations. Blue chip recruit Diamond Stone and transfers Robert Carter Jr. and Rasheed Sulaimon paired up with Melo Trimble and Jake Layman to create a formidable starting 5 for the Terps. The Terrapins were 11–1 entering conference play, featuring wins over Georgetown and UConn and a memorable, competitive 89–81 loss against eventual national runner-up North Carolina at the Dean Smith Center in the ACC/B1G challenge. Maryland got out to a 10–2 record in the Big Ten before losing 4 of the last 6 to finish 3rd in the conference with a 12–6 record. The Terps handled Nebraska 97–86 in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals in Indianapolis. In the semifinal game the Terps were narrowly defeated by the Michigan State Spartans 64–61. For the NCAA Tournament the Terrapins were selected as the #5 seed in the South region. They survived the South Dakota State Jackrabbits 79–74 in the first round. In the second round they defeated a Hawaii team hot off of an upset of the 4 seeded California Golden Bears 73–60. In the Sweet 16 they were ousted by a superior Kansas Jayhawks team 79–63. Altogether the 2015–2016 team is regarded as a disappointment given their preseason ranking and the fact that they only reached the Sweet 16. However they put Maryland back on the map nationally and showed that the program was going to be a force in the Big Ten.

The 2016–2017 squad entered the season with many questions. 1st team all Big-Ten point guard Melo Trimble was the only remaining starter, and only 3 other players received significant play time. Lack of depth allowed a freshman trio of Anthony Cowan Jr, Kevin Huerter, and Justin Jackson to start in almost every game. The team finished with a 24–9 season with a conference record of 12–6, finishing 3rd in the Big Ten. The team had many memorable close-fought games including the season finale against Michigan State, when Melo Trimble nailed a game winning 3 with under a second remaining. The team was deemed a 6 seed in the NCAA tournament, getting knocked out in the 1st round to 11 seed Xavier.

2017–2018 saw the Terps without star point guard Melo Trimble but saw Anthony Cowan Jr, Kevin Huerter, and Justin Jackson returning for their sophomore seasons. Despite this and the emergence of star freshman power forward Bruno Fernando the terps struggled to an overall record of 19-13 and 8–10 in what was considered a weak Big Ten. The season featured many close road losses that followed a pattern.[13] This season resulted in the Terps completely missing the postseason for the first time since the 2013–2014 season.

The 2018–2019 season team entered the season with high anticipation locally thanks to returning stars Cowan and Fernando, as well as the addition of the 7th ranked recruiting class in country starring consensus 5-star Jalen "sticks" Smith.[14][15] Despite a young team, the Terps outperformed national expectations and maintained a top-25 ranking for the entire 2nd half of the season. Maryland finished the 2018-2019 campaign at 22-10 (13-7 in the Big Ten), garnering a #6 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Terps survived a close battle with Dylan Windler led Belmont before losing on the last possession of the game against LSU.[16]

2019-2020 will forever be remembered by the college basketball world as the year the NCAA tournament and most conference tournaments were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the Terps, the cancelled postseason hit especially hard with Turgeon assembling his strongest team at Maryland, which finished 24-7 and 14–6 in the Big Ten. Led by first-team All Big Ten selections Anthony Cowan Jr. and Jalen "Stix" Smith, the Terps won a three-way share of the Big Ten regular season conference title, the men's program's first conference title since 2010 and its first title in the Big Ten. The Terps were ranked in the AP top ten for 22 weeks during the season, being ranked as high as No. 3 in early December and ending the season at No. 12. The season was highlighted by an emphatic 21-point win over a Marquette team led by first team All-American Marcus Howard to win the Orlando Invitational, as well as dramatic road wins against Indiana, Illinois, Michigan State, and Minnesota, which memorably ended on Darryl Morsell's deep, buzzer beating three. Indicative of the program's reemergence on the national stage, for just the second time in program history ESPN's College Gameday returned to College Park in late February for a showdown against pre-season No. 1 Michigan State. Although the Terps lost the game (their only home loss of the season), and struggled mightily in a road loss three days later at Rutgers, they rebounded in their next and final home game against Michigan to capture their share of the conference championship and cut down the nets on Cowan Jr.'s senior night. Although Maryland fans will always wonder how far the team could have gone in March, the season will be remembered fondly for the championship and Cowan Jr.'s outstanding senior season, which saw him climb to No. 7 all time in program history in points, No. 5 in assists, and included several clutch performances in wins over Illinois and MSU. The season will also be remembered for the national emergence of Smith, who was selected to multiple All-American teams and picked 10th in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Xfinity Center interior during a January 2015 game against the Michigan State Spartans.

The Xfinity Center, which opened in the Fall of 2002, is the current home of the Maryland Terrapins men's and women's basketball programs. The building also features facilities for the wrestling and volleyball programs. The 17,950-seat state of the art on-campus facility is referred to as "The House that Gary Built" or "Comcastle," in reference to the arena's original name of Comcast Center, used from 2002 to July 2014. Xfinity Center provides one of the best home court advantages in the nation. This is largely due to the layout of the 4,000 seat student section which consists of the first ten rows surrounding the court in addition to the west wall of the arena, simply known as "the Wall", which was constructed at a 35-degree incline. Several former ACC opponents referred to the arena as the toughest place to play in the ACC.

Xfinity Center opened for Midnight Madness on October 11, 2002 and the first official men's game was a 64–49 victory over Miami University (Ohio) on November 24, 2002. On January 25, 2012, the court was renamed in honor of Gary Williams, the men's basketball coach who had retired the previous year.

The Xfinity Center welcomed 281,057 visitors over 16 games in its first season for an average of 17,566 which ranked 5th nationally in 2003. It was the first time Maryland had finished in the top 10

Xfinity Center exterior

nationally in attendance since the 1976 season in which Maryland finished 4th with an average of 13,110 fans taking in games at Cole Field House. Every year from 2004 to 2010, Maryland finished between 4th and 9th nationally in attendance.

At the conclusion of the 2015–2016 season, Maryland is 205–42 (.830) all-time at Xfinity Center. Since 2003, Maryland has defeated 17 ranked opponents at Xfinity Center, including 11 top-ten teams, eight top-5 teams, and a top-ranked team (Duke University in 2003).[17]

Cole Field House exterior, summer 2007

Cole Field House interior, summer 2007

Prior to 2002, the Terps spent 47 seasons—from 1955 to 2002—at Cole Field House. When college basketball was achieving its most explosive growth – from the late 1950s to the late 1970s – there was one college gymnasium on the East Coast that seated as many as 12,000 fans. Cole Field House epitomized the new big-time, main event status of college hoops, the sport of network TV and emerging legends. It was a building where history was routinely made, and fans could feel the echo of tradition and experience the electricity of top-flight college basketball. Additional seats were installed throughout the years to bring the final capacity to 14,596 (in 1993).

Cole Field House held its first East Regional finals in 1962, when NYU defeated St. John's in the final, 94–85. The Final Four was first held here in 1966 between Duke, Kentucky, Texas Western (now UTEP), and Utah. Texas Western (which started all black players) upset Kentucky's all-white team 72–65 in front of a crowd of 14,253. Future Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams, then a student, attended the game. Cole also hosted the Final Four in 1970 and is the nation's only on-campus arena to host multiple Final Fours.

Bud Millikan, the first Maryland coach at the venue, did not like its size saying at one point "It's like playing on a neutral court" with seats too far from the courts. In the late 1960s Lefty Driesell added a nearly 3,000 seats around the court raising the hometown decibel level.[18] Upon adding additional seating to create a more intimate atmosphere with fans right along the court, Cole would develop into one of the best home court advantages in the country. Along with Notre Dame's Joyce Athletic Center, Cole is the site of the most upsets of top ranked opponents of any venue in college basketball. 7 No. 1 ranked teams have been upset inside Cole, with Maryland pulling the upset in 6 of those 7 games and the other being Texas Western's National Championship win over Kentucky in 1966.

Cole Field House was constructed in 1955 at a cost of $3.3 million. On December 2, 1955 Maryland played its first game at Cole beating rival Virginia 67–55. In 1972 the attendance record would be set as 15,287 fans packed into Cole and watched Maryland knock off North Carolina 79–77 in overtime. The final regular season game of the 2001 season at Cole saw Maryland defeat Virginia 102–67 for the most lopsided result in the rivalry's history. In 2002, in a game known amongst Maryland fans as the "Oh, He Steal" game, the 7th #1 ranked team would fall in Cole, as Maryland handed Duke an 87–73 defeat, taking over first place in the conference.[19] Later that season Maryland would play its final game in Cole Field House, celebrating the regular season conference title with a 112–92 win over Virginia. Over 47 season, Maryland compiled an impressive 486–151 record at Cole Field House.

The Duke–Maryland basketball rivalry is a dormant college basketball rivalry between the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team of Duke University and Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team of the University of Maryland. The basketball series has been called one of the most intense intercollegiate rivalries of modern times by some. A Harris Interactive poll of Marylanders ranked it the third best in the state behind the Redskins–Cowboys and Ravens–Redskins rivalries in 2003 (before the Beltway Series of the Orioles and Nationals was possible). In 2014, Maryland left the ACC for the Big Ten and regular season games between Maryland and Duke are no longer scheduled regularly.

Thanks to the proximity of these two long-time ACC members, and their status as Tobacco Road outsiders, Maryland and Virginia have a long-standing rivalry that spans many decades. Traditionally, these two schools would meet in the last game of the season, and they both acted as spoilers to the other as they sought conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances. This rivalry has been dormant in recent years however, thanks to Maryland's move to the Big Ten Conference, though they did match up in the 2014 ACC-Big Ten Challenge, a 76–65 win for the Cavaliers in College Park, Maryland. The Terrapins lead the all-time series 107–76.

On November 28, 2018, the rivalry was again renewed for the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, with Virginia winning by a score of 76–71.[20]

The Maryland-North Carolina rivalry peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s when both programs were fixtures in the AP poll and legendary coaches Lefty Driesell of Maryland and Dean Smith of the Tar Heels patrolled the sidelines. Although the rivalry cooled towards the end of the Terps ACC era, it still produced some memorable moments.[21][22] The schools reunited for an ACC-Big Ten Challenge matchup in 2015, with the Tar Heels winning the top ten battle 89–82.[23] In 2017 the rivalry was renewed off the court, as part of the wider University of North Carolina academic-athletic scandal. Maryland president Wallace Loh stated that he believed UNC basketball should receive the Death Penalty as punishment. In response UNC coach Roy Williams called Loh a "double idiot".[24]

Maryland and Georgetown have competed 49 times, the 10th most played opponent all-time for both Georgetown and Maryland. Maryland leads the all-time series 34–15. The two schools played each other every season from 1950 to 1980.[25] The schools stopped playing in 1980 because of bad blood between head coaches John Thompson and Lefty Driesell, the two resumed play for one season in 1993 before taking a 22-game scheduled hiatus. The teams met twice in unplanned games during the gap, 2001 NCAA Tournament for a sweet sixteen matchup, and again in 2008 for an old spice classic early season matchup. In 2015 and 2016 the rivalry was renewed for the Gavitt Tipoff Games.

Michigan State has emerged as one of Maryland's top rivals since the Terrapins moved to the Big Ten conference in 2014. The two schools have competed 16 times, including twice in the NCAA tournament in 2003 and 2010 while Maryland was still a member of the ACC.[26] Michigan State won both NCAA tournament games by two points each, including a heartbreaking loss in 2010 on a last second three pointer. The 2010 loss struck deep as it ended the stellar 4-year career of Greivis Vásquez and denied coach Williams an open path to a third Final Four.[27] Since Maryland joined the Big Ten, the two teams have produced memorable moments including Melo Trimble's buzzer beating three in his final home game in 2017 and Anthony Cowan Jr.'s three straight threes in the final minutes to close out a comeback win at MSU in 2020. MSU coach Tom Izzo earned the ire of Terp fans in 2015 after complaining that Trimble received too many favorable foul calls during his freshman year, a move that many believe led to officials not calling blatant fouls against Trimble in his sophomore and junior seasons.[28] Adding to the Terps' tourney heartbreaks against Sparty, MSU won conference tournament semi-finals against Maryland in 2015 and 2016 by a combined seven points, the latter of which ended on a non-call when Trimble was apparently fouled driving to the basket down one point with two seconds left.[29] Michigan State currently leads the all-time series 10-6 and the conference series 7–4.

A rivalry has begun to brew between Maryland and Rutgers. This is likely due to the fact that both schools joined the conference the same year, and that all other conference schools seemed to have long-standing, historic rivalries. The short distance between the two schools (192 miles), Maryland's high student population from New Jersey, and the frequent banter on Twitter between the schools have also helped fuel this budding rivalry. In addition, both home arenas for Maryland and Rutgers, the Xfinity Center and The RAC, respectively, are traditionally two of the loudest and most difficult arenas for opposing teams in all of college basketball, creating for exciting matchups each season. The 2019–20 season truly brought out this rivalry, as Maryland pulled out a gutsy 56–51 win at home on February 4, 2020, only to have Rutgers beat the Terrapins 67–78 at the RAC a month later on March 3, 2020. Not only did the Scarlet Knight fans storm the court, but this loss ruined Maryland's sole claim to the Big Ten Regular Season Champions title, which they would eventually go on to share with Michigan State and Wisconsin. The all-time series currently leans 10–4 to Maryland, with Rutgers on a two-game win streak. The last matchup between the two was on December 14, 2020, with #19 Rutgers pulling away from Maryland 74–60 at the Xfinity Center.

The Terrapins have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 27* (26) times. Their combined record is 41–26* (40–25). They were National Champions in 2002.

* 1988 tournament records vacated by NCAA due to use of ineligible player

Seed History

The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1979 edition.

The Terrapins have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) eight times. Their combined record is 14–7. They were NIT champions in 1972.