On Saturday, No. 24 Maryland traveled to Ann Arbor to take on No. 6 Michigan. The Terps struggled on offense and lost to the Wolverines 65-52. This marked the 27th consecutive loss on the road against a ranked team for the Terps, a streak that has spanned both Gary Williams and Mark Turgeon.
The last time Maryland won a game on the road against a ranked opponent was their 82-80 upset over No. 1 North Carolina on Jan. 19, 2008. In that game, James Gist led Maryland with 22 points while Greivis Vasquez contributed with 11 assists.
A lot of time has passed between that day in January and now. Let’s put things in perspective.
Barack Obama had not been elected President
The 44th president of the United States had not been elected president yet and was in the middle of his Presidential campaign as George W. Bush’s time in the Oval Office came to an end. In fact, Maryland’s upset over UNC happened on the exact same day as the 2008 Nevada caucuses.
Barack Obama was not elected President of the United States until Nov. 4, 2008, and he was not sworn into office until Jan. 20, 2009. In between Maryland’s win over UNC and Obama’s inauguration, the Terrapins lost their only road game against a ranked opponent, a Feb. 13, 2008 game against No. 2 Duke.
Michael Jackson was alive
The King of Pop was 49 years old when Maryland won that game against North Carolina. More than a year after the game, he announced a series of concerts in March of 2009 before famously passing away on June 25, 2009.
Michael Phelps only had six gold medals
When UNC was upset in the Dean Dome, Michael Phelps had about a quarter of his total medals. Phelps had six gold medals from the 2004 Olympics in Athens, but had to yet to pick up eight in Beijing, four in London and another five in Rio to give him his 23 total gold medals.
Jalen Smith was seven
Maryland forward Jalen Smith is one of the youngest players in college basketball at just 18. The freshman McDonald’s All-American was just a young child the last time Maryland beat a ranked opponent on the road. Smith was just seven and likely in second grade when the Terrapins upset the Tar Heels, and wouldn’t turn eight for two more months.
Snapchat and Instagram did not exist
Snapchat and Instagram are two of the world’s most popular social media platforms, with each having hundreds of millions of users. The two social network platforms have never been able to witness Maryland beating a ranked opponent on the road, as Instagram and Snapchat were created in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
Flo Rida’s “Low” was the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 song
Maryland’s players were probably getting hyped up in the locker room following the upset by listening to Flo Rida’s hit song “Low”. The other songs that were in the top five at the time were “No One” by Alicia Keys, “Apologize” by Timbaland featuring OneRepublic, “Kiss Kiss” by Chris Brown featuring T-Pain and “Clumsy” by Fergie.