Winner

MARYLAND (32-4)

Coach: Gary Williams

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MARYLAND 85, SIENA 70

March 15, first round at Washington

Playing against the only team in the 65-team field with a losing record, the Terrapins--the No. 1-seeded team in the East Regional--made themselves right at home at the MCI Center, only 20 minutes from their College Park campus. The Terrapins kept the pesky Saints (17-19) at a long arm’s length, maintaining a double-digit advantage after the game’s first eight minutes.

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MARYLAND 87, WISCONSIN 57

March 17, second round at Washington

The Terrapins went on a 22-5 run to open the second half, with Juan Dixon scoring 15 of his 29 points. “Once the hammer came down,” said Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan, “it came down pretty hard.”

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MARYLAND 78, KENTUCKY 68

March 22, East Regional semifinals

at Syracuse, N.Y.

There was no jumping around, no excited hugging, no pointing to the stands. The Terrapins simply shook hands with the No. 4-seeded Wildcats after closing out the victory by making 10 free throws in a row and walked off the court, one step closer to a second consecutive Final Four appearance. “Sometimes I wish they had more emotion,” said Maryland Coach Gary Williams. “We go in thinking we’re good enough to win and when we do, we move on to the next game.”

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MARYLAND 90, CONNECTICUT 82

March 24, East Regional final

at Syracuse, N.Y.

Pulled from a back-and-forth game with the No. 2-seeded Huskies because of poor defense, and without a point, Terrapin junior point guard Steve Blake took matters into his own hands when his coach preferred the ball get into Dixon’s. With 25 seconds left and the shot clock nearing zero, Blake made a three-point shot that gave Maryland a six-point lead in a game that had been tied eight times and featured seven lead changes in the final 13 minutes.

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MARYLAND 97, KANSAS 88

March 30, national semifinal at Atlanta

After losing all but five points of a 20-point lead to the Jayhawks and 1:14 remaining, Terrapin thoughts were harkening back to last year’s Final Four when they blew a 22-point lead to Duke. But Dixon scored four points on Maryland’s next two possessions to shift the tide.

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MARYLAND 64, INDIANA 52

April 1, national final at Atlanta

All the heartaches in one maddening March after another were forgotten as the Terrapins overcame their shoddiest play of the tournament to win the school’s first NCAA basketball championship. Seniors Lonny Baxter and Dixon combined for all of the points in a 9-2 run after Indiana had overcome a 12-point deficit and taken its first lead of the game at 44-42 with 9:42 left.

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Champions

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