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SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- No jumping around, no excited hugs, no
pointing to the stands.
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Maryland Terps coach Gary Williams had a tough task against the Kentucky Wildcats' fight for redemption after a season of turmoil. The 'Cats battled and battled but were no match for the balance of the Terps.
Juan Dixon, who in my estimation is the best second guard in America, scored 19 points, followed by Lonny Baxter with 16 points and his buddy Chris Wilcox, on the interior, with 15 points. Byron Mouton, who struggled in the first two games with only eight points, scored 14 to give the Terps a balanced attack. That's four guys in double figures, and orchestra leader Steve Blake directing.
With only 12 turnovers, Maryland did a solid job defensively against Keith Bogans and Tayshaun Prince.
After winning 16 of their past 17 games (only suffering one upset in the ACC semifinals, when the Terps fell to North Carolina State), Maryland marches on to face the UConn Huskies for a spot in the Final Four.
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Maryland's players simply shook hands with the team they beat and walked off the court, one step closer to a second straight Final Four.
"They're a veteran team. Sometimes I wish they had more emotion," Terrapins coach Gary Williams said. "We are not surprised when we win. We go in thinking we're good enough to win and when we do, we move on to the next game."
Despite a quiet second half from All-American Juan Dixon,
top-seeded Maryland just moved right along Friday night, beating Kentucky 78-68 in the East Regional semifinals.
Maryland (29-4) will play second-seeded Connecticut in Sunday's regional final.
The teams met in Washington on Dec. 3, with the Terrapins
winning 77-65. The stakes are a lot higher this time, with Maryland
looking to get to the Final Four for the second time in school
history. Connecticut, which beat Southern Illinois 71-59 Friday,
has also been to the Final Four just once, when the Huskies won it
all in 1999.
The Huskies are "one of those teams that always gets better,"
Williams said. "It's two different teams now, but we're a better team also."
Dixon, the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, had only four points over the final 14 minutes of the Terrapins' win over Kentucky. He didn't have to score, though.
Unlike in the Terrapins' first two wins in the tournament -- when
the senior guard poured in 29 points each time -- Dixon didn't
dominate the scoring column Friday.
"Today I didn't have to score 29. I only needed to score 19 and make some defensive plays," said Dixon, who was 6-for-15 from the field and had seven rebounds and four assists.
"Hopefully we can keep this up."
Maryland's 16th victory in 17 games ended the up-and-down season
of fifth-seeded Kentucky (22-10), which got only 17 points from
senior star Tayshaun Prince -- 24 fewer than he scored in a second-round victory over Tulsa.
"Prince is going to get his looks. We just wanted to make sure he didn't get a lot of open looks," Williams said. "Byron Mouton did a good job on him, and we tried to help off the screen and convince him he wasn't open."
|  | | Maryland's Chris Wilcox reacts after dunking for two of his 15 points. |
Prince, who was 19-for-35 from the field in the first two tournament games, was 6-for-16 against the Terrapins.
"I had plenty of opportunities and didn't get it down," he said. "They did a pretty good job of playing defense. Others double-teamed me more. They were straight up until I had the opportunity to shoot."
Both Maryland and Kentucky played solid defense, and neither came within seven points of its season scoring average.
Drew Nicholas' 3-pointer with 9:54 left gave Maryland the lead for good at 56-53, but the Wildcats wouldn't let the Terrapins pull away.
Marquis Estill made two free throws with 5:05 to play to get
Kentucky within 66-63, but Chris Wilcox and Lonny Baxter each made two for Maryland to make it 70-63.
The Wildcats' Chuck Hayes scored with 1:53 left to make it a
five-point game. Dixon had four free throws, and Mouton added two
more to give Maryland its late cushion.
Baxter had 16 points for Maryland, while Wilcox had 15 and Mouton 14.
Keith Bogans scored 15 for Kentucky, and Estill had 12.
Maryland is in the regional finals for the fourth time, the others coming in 1973, '75, and last year, when it lost to eventual champion Duke in the national semifinals.
"I was impressed with their composure down the stretch and making their free throws," Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. "It's a sign of a poised, mature, veteran team."
Kentucky fought through a season of distractions that included players transferring and being suspended, injuries and the usual high expectations of one of the nation's most high-profile programs. The Wildcats went to a regional final every year from 1995-99 -- winning NCAA championships in 1996 and '98 -- but have not
been back since.
"We didn't take advantage of opportunities," Smith said. "We
turned it over two or three times on fast breaks and then you see
our guys start to doubt themselves."
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Experience counts