Steven Overly/The Diamondback
In the minutes after the Terrapin men’s basketball team’s 21-point beatdown of defending national champion North Carolina on Feb. 7, several players, including senior guards Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes, said they hadn’t experienced a more raucous Comcast Center crowd.
Snow-covered roads forced many season-ticket holders to stay home, and more than 2,000 extra students attended the win against the struggling Tar Heels.
The next afternoon, a man with a more complete understanding of the arena’s eight-year history set the record straight.
“Last but not least I want to thank all the students who came out to the game. Unbelievable crowd last night. Loudest I have heard comcast!!” coach Gary Williams tweeted Feb. 8 as part of a series of thank-yous on Twitter to those involved with the game.
But recently, no matter who has filled the seats or what opponent has ventured into Comcast Center, the results have been the same.
The Terps are 5-0 at home in ACC play this season, winning those games by an average of 19 points per game. That dominating play has brought an added buzz to the Terps (18-7, 8-3 ACC), who haven’t run through their conference slate undefeated at home since their final season at Cole Field House — when they won the National Championship in 2002.
One of four ACC teams without a home conference loss, they’ll put that winning streak on the line tomorrow against Georgia Tech.
“Every time we come home it’s always a blowout, except [against Florida State,]” forward Dino Gregory said after the Terps dispatched Virginia 85-66 on Monday. “It’s fun playing at Comcast. It’s our home arena, and we get up for those games.”
The Terps’ lone blemish in 13 home games is an 83-77 loss to William & Mary on Dec. 30. Although they’ve won more than 80 percent of their games at Comcast Center all-time, the sight of red-clad fans dancing for their dinner during media timeouts and screaming for the Shell Shuffle has rarely been so kind.
They went 14-4 at the on-campus arena a season ago and haven’t enjoyed this much home success since going 17-2 during the 2006-07 season — the freshmen campaign for Hayes, Vasquez and forward Landon Milbourne.
The only ACC squad that can match the Terps’ home dominance this year is Duke, which has won its six home conference games by an average of 19.2 points per game, including a 77-56 win against the Terps on Saturday.
Tomorrow, the Terps will get a chance against a Georgia Tech squad that hasn’t won in College Park since 2004. The Yellow Jackets (18-8, 6-6) are just 3-6 in road games this season, including a 1-5 mark against ACC squads.
Entering a two-game homestand that also includes a game Wednesday against Clemson, the Terps have plenty of reasons to feel good about their conference positioning.
But Williams, a 21-year veteran of ACC coaching, has urged caution against just expecting that streak to continue.
“It’s great to have the home crowd, and you want that playing at home, obviously. That can really help you,” Williams said. “But at the same time, you have to play. Crowds don’t win games for you. The players win games, and you have to play well whether you’re home or on the road.”
The Terps have won three of six road games, too, but the team is coming off a brutal three-game in five day stretch. Vasquez has faced profanity, and signs chiding his appearance and nationality at arenas across the ACC. It’s easy to understand why the Terps appreciate the comforts of home.
Only one of the Terps’ home wins has come against a team with a winning conference record, so some of their toughest home tests are still ahead. Their final three home opponents are all ranked in the top-50 of the Ratings Percentage Index, including a Senior Night chance for revenge against the Blue Devils on March 3.
If they can continue their recent play, Terp fans will have plenty left to cheer about.
“[We’re playing with] a lot of confidence now,” said forward Jordan Williams of Comcast Center’s atmosphere. “It’s not just us. It’s the crowd, too.”
edetweiler@umdbk.com
