Sunday, March 24, 2002
Terps, Huskies meet again
But both teams changed since early-season game
The Associated Press
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The first time Maryland and Connecticut met this season, they were very different from each other.
Maryland had three senior starters back from its first Final Four appearance. Connecticut used two sophomores and two freshmen as it tried to rebound from a season that ended with a second-round NIT loss.
Experience prevailed Dec.3 in the MCI Center, with Maryland winning 77-65.
When the Terrapins and Huskies meet today in the Carrier Dome, they again will be very different teams — and the stakes will be much higher: the East Regional championship and a berth in next weekend's Final Four in Atlanta.
The Huskies “are a lot more confident than the team we played and they have a lot more wins,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said. “We're a better team, too.”
After that December meeting, Maryland was 6-1 and ranked No.3. Connecticut was 3-1 and not even considered the third-best team in the Big East.
Connecticut forward Caron Butler said then he wanted another shot at the Terrapins.
“I mean, I'm not a psychic, but it's good we get a chance to redeem ourselves,” Butler said Saturday.
“This was what we wanted and we got what we asked for in a great situation with an opportunity to show how much we grew.”
Top-seeded Maryland (29-4) has won 16 of its last 17 games, the latest a 78-68 victory over Kentucky in the regional semifinals that left the Terrapins as the only team with a chance to return to the Final Four.
Second-seeded Connecticut (27-6) has won 12 games in a row, including 71-59 over Southern Illinois Friday.
“The kids know, and I certainly know, we have a heck of a team we have to play but we're bringing along, I think, a very good basketball team that since the last time we played them has added 20 more games' experience,” Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said.
Maryland has the experience of getting this far in the NCAA Tournament in 2001, when it beat Stanford in the West Regional final. The Terps then lost to Duke in the national semifinals.
“Last year was new for everybody, and we were just so excited being there, a bunch of young guys,” Maryland senior Byron Mouton said. “This year we have a lot more maturity and our ultimate goal is to win the national championship, and we're going to have go through Connecticut.”
While All-American Juan Dixon has been the offensive leader for the Terrapins during the NCAA Tournament, averaging 25.6 points, Mouton has been the defensive key. He has been assigned to cover the opponent's top scorer in each of the three games, and Dwayne Archbold of Siena, Kirk Penney of Wisconsin and Tayshaun Prince of Kentucky have combined to shoot 13-for-48 from the field.
“There's no rest,” Mouton said of his next assignment, Butler, who leads the Huskies at 20 points a game and has scored 74 points in the tournament.
Butler and Prince are taller than Mouton, and Archbold and Penney are smaller and tended to stay outside.
“That's what so great about college basketball — the different styles every night,” Mouton said. “I look forward to it, and you know I'll do whatever it takes.”
Connecticut has its own defensive stopper in shot-blocking freshman center Emeka Okafor. When these teams first met, he came into the game with a total of nine blocks, and five of those were against New Hampshire. He heads into today's game averaging 4.5 blocks.
“That was my fourth game and now I'm going into my 30-something,” Okafor said. “Along the way I've picked up a lot. I've become more aware defensively, improved my quickness and just my understanding of the game.”
Both coaches will show their teams the tape of that December game. Both will tell their players how much better they are than they were then. Both will make sure their players know what's at stake.
“Once you've been there, you have the goal immediately to get back,” Williams said of the Final Four.
Calhoun has made one trip to the Final Four, in 1999, when the Huskies won it all.
“We've done some great things this year and I'm really proud of this team, but now that we're here, let's try to get to Atlanta,” Calhoun said.
Sports Stories
Bacon brings home title
SULLIVAN: Flash bows to Bacon's true grit
Bacon: city's first D-II title since 1980
Bacon's Hausfeld leads all-tourney team
Superstar James keeps loss in perspective
Winton Woods comes up short
SULLIVAN: Winton Woods
Delphos St. John's takes Div. IV title
Holmes loses in state semifinal
Hoosier Hysteria waning
Indiana state championships
Preps Insider
Huggins bides time in talks
UC's Stokes waits, worries
Tantalizing talent
Larkin returns, and gets a hit
Reds Q&A with John Fay
Roster moves breaking Reds' budget
Phillies 4, Reds 3
Reds notebook
Baseball insider
Baseball notebook
Bengals Q&A with Mark Curnutte
NFL notebook
Terps, Huskies meet again
