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Hoyas, Terrapins Meet at Long Last
In the last meeting between the teams, Chris Wilcox, right, and Maryland got the better of Georgetown and Wesley Wilson, left.
(By John Mcdonnell -- The Washington Post)
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Maryland holds a 36-26 advantage in the series, which dates from the 1907-08 season.
But the teams have met just twice since 1981 despite being separated by a mere 12 miles: At Landover's old USAir Arena on Thanksgiving weekend in 1993, when a young Maryland squad upset Georgetown in overtime, 84-83; and in the 2001 NCAA tournament round of 16, with Maryland advancing, 76-66.
This time, Georgetown will be favored by virtue of its ranking (21st) and more imposing front court -- particularly against a relatively small Maryland lineup that was manhandled by Gonzaga's heft and size.
Greg Monroe, the Hoyas' 6-foot-11 freshman center, has proven capable of taking over games, provided he stays out of foul trouble.
"He looks like he might be the next Bill Russell," Driesell in a telephone interview. "He blocks everything, and he can run the floor."
And 6-8 junior forward DaJuan Summers adds explosive scoring ability under the basket and beyond the arc, provided his intensity doesn't desert him.
With defense a hallmark of Thompson's team, the 90 points surrendered to Tennessee was alarming.
Maryland can only hope to replicate the Volunteers' hot shooting night (53 percent) in the face of Georgetown's pressure. Junior guard Greivis Vasquez, who has shouldered the Terrapins' offensive load, will need more help than he got against Gonzaga. Vasquez sunk the only three-point basket in a game in which his teammates shot 0 of 12 from beyond the arc.
But Vasquez is hardly Maryland's only gifted shooter, as Thursday's upset of fifth-ranked Michigan State proved.
With a victory over Georgetown, Maryland would return to College Park having beaten two ranked teams in a four-day span -- an achievement that would help the Terrapins break into the top 25.
For Georgetown, a victory ought to help maintain its ranking.
Regardless of Sunday's outcome, Driesell, whose son Chuck is a Maryland assistant coach and a former Georgetown assistant coach, believes it's a game that should be played every year rather than every 10 or 20 years.
Elmore agrees.
"The game of basketball, particularly college basketball, is all about challenges," Elmore said. "Both programs should want to accept the challenge of playing each other, and the athletic directors should put their heads together and find a way to make this happen."
Asked about the possibility, Thompson didn't rule it out, saying, "There is no one, other than probably Princeton, that I'm categorically opposed to playing."
