Tonight the Wisconsin Badgers (3-0) take to the road for the second time in the young 2003-04 men’s basketball season to face the Maryland Terrapins (3-0) in the fifth annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The game marks the third time in four seasons that Wisconsin and Maryland will face each other.
“With Gary Williams, you’re playing against the system. No matter where he would be coaching, his teams would play the same way,” Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. “I happen to be that type of teacher and coach also. So, you’re playing a program that has been successful, knows how to get it done, and hopefully remember some of the things carried over from years past; that they remember how to get things done, and it will be two forces going against one another, and that’s the kind of game you want.”
Maryland has yet to travel this season and has garnered a 3-0 record with its last win coming against Hofstra, 87-72. Led by sophomore forward Nik Caner-Medly, The Terps are loaded with a strong base of second-year talent.
Caner-Medly, standing at 6-foot-8 while playing small forward, can create quite a mismatch for opposing defenses. The Portland, Mass., native is an aggressive scorer, who can light it up from outside or take it to the hoop. A left-handed shooter, Caner-Medly will make things difficult for the Badgers, who will be playing without their star sophomore small-forward Alando Tucker until the end of the month.
Sophomore point guard John Gilchrist is the Terps’ floor general. The Virginia Beach native notched 18 points and five assists in Maryland’s win over Hofstra. Gilchrist is also a solid slasher, recording most of his points driving to the hoop while filling some big shoes this season, replacing four-year starter Steve Blake at the point.
Forward Travis Garrison and guard Chris McCray round out the rest of the sophomore class that looks to lead the Terps this season.
Garrison, who recorded 12 points against Hofstra, is a tough rebounder and solid presence around the hoop with a soft touch for a player at his position. McCray, a native of nearby Capital Heights, is a quick shooter who added some strength to his skinny frame in the off-season.
Providing veteran leadership for the Terrapins is lone senior Jamar Smith, who came to Maryland last season as a transfer from Allegany Community College. Smith, at 6-foot-9, 239 pounds, is the team’s best rebounder and averaged 7.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in a reserve role last season.
Maryland also boasts a talented freshman recruiting class, highlighted by swingman D.J. Strawberry, the son of former major league baseball player Daryl Strawberry. The younger Strawberry came to College Park from the vaunted Mater Dei Academy in Corona, Calif., and, in limited action this season, has shown to be a solid defender with great athleticism.
Maryland holds a 2-2 overall record in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and fell to Indiana last season in an overtime rematch of the 2002 national championship game. Wisconsin, who fell last season to Wake Forest at the Kohl Center as part of the annual cross-conference challenge, leads the all-time series with Maryland three games to one. The Badgers’ lone loss to the Terrapins occurred in the second round of the 2002 NCAA tournament, 87-57.
“We’re preparing to play a very good team based on objective observations from video tape,” Ryan said on Monday. “This player does this, this is what they like to do with their offense, this is what they’re going to bring defensively, you better get ready for this. That’s really all the time that I have to concentrate on anything particular. I can’t remember the last time I looked at revenge as a factor in anything that I’ve done. I wipe it out.”
