COLLEGE PARK -- Before it prepares for final exams, Maryland will get the opportunity to make up a test it failed 17 days ago.
The 21st-ranked Terps meet No. 23 Kentucky at 9 tonight in a nationally televised, emotionally charged men's college basketball game at Cole Field House. It has been a sellout for months, and Maryland has been plotting revenge since Nov. 24, when it lost to the Wildcats, 61-58, in the semifinals of the Preseason National Invitation Tournament in New York.
Maryland has a national-best 68-game winning streak at home against non-conference opponents, but Kentucky will be the first ranked foe to test that streak during the Gary Williams era, which began in 1989.
They were Nos. 2 and 5, respectively, when the Terps lost to the Wildcats at Rupp Arena a year ago this weekend, but the return match lost some appeal when two young teams stumbled recently.
The Terps (7-2) want to rinse out the aftertaste of Sunday's upset loss to George Washington, while Kentucky (4-3) was fortunate to remain in the Top 25 after a confidence-shaking three-game losing streak, its longest since 1990. The Wildcats pounded winless North Carolina-Asheville, 86-41, on Tuesday.
The Wildcats' ranking is their lowest since December 1990, when Rick Pitino began Kentucky's climb from NCAA sanctions. In 1996, Pitino coached the program to the NCAA title, with a group that Kentucky professes to be America's "Team of the Century." A year later, the reins were handed to Tubby Smith, a Maryland native who guided the Wildcats to their seventh national championship in 1998.
"I'll have a lot of relatives there," said Smith, one of 17 children raised by Guffrie and Parthenia Smith in St. Mary's County. "You want to do well, because you're from that area. You also want to do well because you don't want to lose again."
Kentucky, ranked No. 14 in the preseason, first began to wobble in the second half against Maryland at Madison Square Garden. A Terps team that has no seniors came out intimidated by the Wildcats and fell behind by 16 points, before preseason All-American Terence Morris asserted himself and the Terps had three shots to tie in the final two minutes.
Kentucky won that game on the wings, where it outscored Maryland 42-18. Sophomore Tayshaun Prince owned his matchup with Danny Miller, as he had a career-high 21 points and shot a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range. He's 4-for-31 in the other six games. Kentucky freshman Keith Bogans had 17 off the bench, and he and starter Desmond Allison limited Juan Dixon to 3-for-17 shooting.
"That was the first he [Dixon] was played physical," said Williams, who can notch his 200th win with Maryland. "They can put guys bigger than he is on him. Now that he's gone through that, hopefully he's learned."
The 58 points Maryland scored against Kentucky marked its lone game below 60 in its past 76 games. The Terps shot a season-low 38.7 percent, but they responded with crisp offensive efforts in wins over three other teams from the heartland: Notre Dame, Iowa and then-No. 16 Illinois.
Dixon, a sophomore from Calvert Hall, leads the Terps in points with a 17.0 average. He missed a long three at the buzzer against Kentucky that would have forced overtime, but delivered the game-winning basket against Illinois. Maryland got in that game with a 3-2 zone, a tactic that could come in handy against a bigger Wildcats team that went cold on the perimeter during its losing streak.
Freshman point guard Steve Blake outplayed coach's son Saul Smith and J. P. Blevins in New York. Blake struggled with fatigue in the loss to George Washington and Tuesday's overtime win over Winthrop, but said three days' rest will serve him well against the Wildcats.
The schedule and a lack of offensive firepower caught up to Kentucky after beating Maryland. The Wildcats lost the Preseason NIT final to No. 2 Arizona; were ambushed by Dayton in Cincinnati, then fell to No. 15 Indiana at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
Before Christmas, Kentucky will get its annual grudge match against Louisville, then No. 4 Michigan State. Maryland, conversely, must wait 16 days before its next game, as long a break as the Terps have had in 11 seasons under Williams. Producing a harmonious practice environment is another incentive.
"They [Kentucky] beat us already, so we want revenge," Miller said. "After this game, we have that break. We especially don't want to go into it off a bad game."
Terps tonight
Opponent: No. 23 Kentucky (4-3)
Site: Cole Field House, College Park
Time: 9 p.m.
TV/Radio: ESPN/WBAL (1090 AM)
