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ATLANTA (AP) -- A star who stepped up and a tightly wound coach --
a match made in Maryland, and good enough to turn the Terrapins
into national champions.
|  | | Indiana forward Jared Jeffries loses the basketball as bodies and turnovers were prevalent Monday night. |
With All-American guard Juan Dixon snapping out of a scoring
drought just in time, Maryland ended Indiana's magical tournament
run with a 64-52 victory Monday night.
This was the Terrapins' first appearance in a national
championship game and the senior-laden lineup came through over the
final 9:42, pulling away from the Hoosiers to become the fourth
straight No. 1 seed to win it all.
Coach Gary Williams guided his alma mater from the depths of
probation 13 years ago to the pinnacle of college basketball. He
let his intense demeanor melt long enough to celebrate with his
team, which featured four players who had started at least 100
games in their careers.
"We had to really grind it," he said. "It took us a good 25
minutes before we really ran our offense. Not many coaches get a
chance to coach three great seniors like this. It was a thrill for
me to watch these guys work hard and get their reward."
Dixon scored at least 27 points in four of the first five
tournament games, including 33 in the semifinal win over fellow top
seed Kansas. He started the title game at that pace, scoring 11
points in the opening 10 minutes. He didn't score again for 20
minutes.
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People will say how ugly it was and how it wasn't a classic championship game, but the bottom line is that Maryland coach Gary Williams and his Terps can stand tall after cutting down the nets as the 2002 national champions.
Final Four experience again prevailed. This Maryland team was reminiscent of the 2000 Michigan State champs, who lost in the national semifinals in 1999 but came back behind senior point guard Mateen Cleaves to win the title the following year.
Last year, the Terps blew a 22-point lead and lost to Duke in the semifinals. This year, there was no way that seniors Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter were going to be denied. Both Maryland stars responded in big ways.
Dixon hit the biggest shot of the game, right after the Hoosiers had taken their first lead of the night (44-42). Dixon calmly hit a trifecta to reclaim a one-point lead. Then he came back with a one-on-one move that gave the Terps a three-point cushion, and they never looked back. more...
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When he hit a 3-pointer with 9:42 to play, it gave Maryland
(32-4) the lead for good at 45-44 and the Terrapins made sure even
a small lead was safe this time.
"I was trying to be patient," he said. "I was trying to let
the game come to me. I hit a big shot."
Dixon finished with 18 points and he and fellow senior Lonny
Baxter combined for all the points in the 9-2 run that Dixon
started with the 3 and Baxter ended with a dunk that made it 51-46
with 7:22 to play.
"It's like I'm dreaming right now because I'm part of a
national championship team," Dixon said. "A lot of people at home
counted me out at home. But I got better each year."
Indiana (25-12), which upset top-seeded Duke then shocked
second-seeded Oklahoma in the semifinals, just couldn't come up
with another stunner.
The team that had the country almost forgetting about Bob
Knight, again used the 3-point shot as its main weapon.
The Hoosiers, who were 23-for-32 from behind the arc in the
regional final against Kent State and Oklahoma, made eight of their
first 12 Monday night. When Jared Jeffries' layup was goaltended
with 9:53 left, Indiana had its only lead of the game, 44-42.
When Dixon and Baxter, who finished with 15 points and 14
rebounds, stepped up, the long shots stopped falling. Indiana made
just two of its 11 shots from behind the arc and its dream of being
the first No. 5 seed to win a national championship started to
fade.
Kyle Hornsby led Indiana with 14 points and Dane Fife added 11.
Jeffries, the Big Ten's player of the year, finished with eight
points on 4-for-11 shooting. The Hoosiers finished 20-for-58 from
the field (34.5 percent), the first time in the tournament they
shot below 50 percent.
The Terrapins, who won 19 of their last 20 games, again were big
on the boards, finishing with a 42-31 rebound advantage.
"They were definitely physical," Jeffries said. "They did a
good job of preparing for us on defense."
Maryland was among the country's highest scoring teams at 85
points per game, but its third-lowest total of the season was good
enough to make it the 33rd school to win the national championship
and the second straight from the Atlantic Coast Conference
following Duke last season.
The loss was the first for Indiana in six national championship
game appearances. The last three titles -- 1976, 1981 and 1987 --
were won under Knight, who was fired two years ago for violating a
zero-tolerance policy. Mike Davis, one of his assistants, was
selected to succeed him and in just his second season he almost won
it all.
Dixon didn't miss a shot in the first half, going 4-for-4 from
the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. His last shot came
with 10:02 left and the baseline jumper gave the Terrapins a 21-11
lead.
Indiana's first 14 points came on four 3-pointers, two by
Coverdale, and two free throws. The Hoosiers couldn't get a shot
off in the paint and had to settle for outside shots.
After Drew Nicholas made two free throws to give Maryland a
25-16 lead with 7:59 left, the Terrapins missed eight straight
shots, but Indiana was unable to take advantage of the cold spell
and only trimmed two points off the lead.
Coverdale's drive at the buzzer brought the Hoosiers within
31-25.
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One-on-Juan