On the night of December 22, Maryland head coach Gary Williams got some angry phone calls.
The Terrapins had just dropped a 67-59 decision at home to American University of the Patriot League. It was Maryland's second straight home loss to a non-BCS school, its third consecutive defeat at the Comcast Center overall and its sixth loss in the season's first 12 games.
Fast forward to Saturday, when the Terrapins pulled off the biggest upset of the college basketball season, knocking off then-No. 1 North Carolina 82-80 at the Dean Smith Center.
Williams was getting more phone calls that night, but this time they were a bit easier to handle.
"I told [the team] about the phone calls I've gotten since the Carolina game, and I didn't get quite the same number of calls after the American U. game, or the calls I did get were a little different tone after the American U. game," Williams said in Monday's ACC teleconference.
The polar emotions Maryland has already experienced in the last month resemble the ups and downs the Terrapins went through around this time last season. After a 3-6 conference start, Maryland won its final seven ACC games and entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed.
Williams and the Terrapins hope Saturday's road upset will catalyze a similar comeback this year.
"I wanted [the players] to be excited, because they worked very hard to get to the point where we could play and be competitive with a team like North Carolina. We weren't that team about three and a half weeks ago," Williams said. "Hopefully now we can build on that. That's the key thing; let's not let that be one game this year, but maybe we can continue from there and keep improving as the season goes on."
The key to Maryland's victory Saturday was ACC Player of the Week James Gist. One of only two seniors on the Terrapins' roster, Gist had his fifth double-double of the year against the Tar Heels, registering 22 points and 13 rebounds. This was a dramatic increase from his three-point, four-rebound performance in the loss to American.
"[Gist] had to step up not just for himself but for the team, and he's done a great job with that," Williams said. "He wasn't giving the team what he could give us talent-wise or leadership-wise early, and that's been a big change in our team to see James step up."
Gist was aided on the block Saturday by Bambale Osby. Gist's fellow senior wasn't known for his afro than his offense before this season, but Osby is averaging 11 points per contest and scored the game-winning basket in the final minute against North Carolina. Sophomore Greivis Vazquez, Maryland's leading scorer, chipped in with 12 points and a season-high-tying 11 assists.
The Terrapins now have a week off before hosting Duke Sunday. Maryland is looking for its third straight victory in the rivalry after sweeping the Blue Devils a season ago.
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