April 4, 2001

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - On the heels of its first appearance in the NCAA Final Four, and winning 10 of its last 12 games with losses only to eventual national champion and top-ranked Duke, the Maryland Terrapins have earned a No. 4 final ranking in the ESPN/USA Today national coaches poll. It is Maryland's highest final ranking ever, matching a No. 4 mark in both final polls in 1974.

Maryland, 25-11 after falling to Duke in the national semifinals at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, began the season ranked No. 5 by the Associated Press. The Terrapins' preseason AP ranking and its final coaches poll ranking both are Maryland's highest during the 12-year coaching era of Gary Williams. The AP, which produced its final poll prior to the NCAA Tournament on March 12, ranked Maryland at No. 11.

In a season characterized by peaks and valleys, Maryland saved its best for last by reeling off six straight wins beginning Feb. 17 at Wake Forest, and winning every game the rest of the season, save for ACC semifinal and national semifinal losses to the Blue Devils. Tabbed the hottest team in the country in the weeks preceding the ACC Tournament, Maryland won seven games over nationally-ranked opponents during its 10 of 12 streak to close the season.

Included among the teams toppled by the Terrapins were then-No. 2-ranked Duke on the road on Feb. 27, and an NCAA West Region championship defeat of No. 2 Stanford to send Maryland to its first Final Four in history.

Maryland's only other Top Five final rankings were a No. 5 finish in both major polls in 1975, and a No. 5 finish by the Associated Press in 1999.