Maryland ACC memories: Syracuse/Notre Dame/Pittsburgh

While Maryland has a rich history in the ACC conference, the newcomers to the conference do not share such a bond. Syracuse, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh are the party crashers, and they bring some talent with them.

Maryland has met with Notre Dame twenty times in their history, winning eleven of those contests, making for a competitive series. Maryland has battled Pittsburgh just nine times in their history, and own the series record with five wins to four losses. Maryland met Syracuse seven times as well, winning the same amount of games against the Orange.

With these three teams coming into the conference, it was inevitable to see even more conference realignment. Maryland happened to be the team to move from the ACC, which set the stage for only one year of match-ups with each team. In the ACC, fans are used to North Carolina-Duke, Maryland-Duke, and Maryland-North Carolina, but with the additions of these three schools, new rivalries were born, signaling in a new ACC before the fans very eyes.

With their marathon of a game this season, it is easy to see why Syracuse and Duke could be a rivalry in the making, but it is a new ACC where the rivalries are a bit different, and the conference is larger.

Although Maryland hasn't seen a lot of these teams, like other ACC opponents, there have been some big match-ups between the teams.

2004: NCAA Tournament: Maryland vs. Syracuse. 72-70 Syracuse win.

In their second round match-up, Maryland drew Syracuse, and it was a battle. Maryland was trailing Syracuse at the half 32-22, but came storming back to outscore the Orange 48-40 in the second half, but it simply wasn't enough to defeat the defending champions who boasted a team consisting of Hakim Warrick, Gerry McNamara, Josh Pace, and company. While Maryland came up on the short-end, it was still a battle until the very end of two talented teams.

1996: Pittsburgh vs. Maryland. 66-63 Maryland win.

This game was played in the Puerto Rico tournament, and it was a battle to the very end. Pittsburgh held the halftime advantage 38-32, but Maryland battled back with 34 points second half to take the win. Keith Booth led the way for the Terps, scoring 25 points on 9-15 shooting, while making seven of his ten free throw attempts. Maryland would win five of their first six contests against Pitt, but have now lost three in a row to make the series a bit tighter.

1999: Notre Dame vs. Maryland. 72-67 Maryland win.

This game was played in the NIT season tip-off tournament, and Maryland got off to a fast start, heading into half leading 39-28. Notre Dame made a charge in the second half, outscoring Maryland 39-33. Lonny Baxter led the way with a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, but Juan Dixon had a poor shooting night, going 3-11 from the field. Steve Blake had 14 points to help the charge as well.

Maryland also battled Syracuse in the NIT at the Carrier Dome, where they fell 88-72. The game started off competitive, with the Orange leading at half just 40-38. The game got out of hand in the second half, however, but James Gist and "Boom" Osby led the way with 23 and 21 points respectively.

Maryland will not have a chance to create a lot of memories with these teams with their move to the Big Ten, but potential NCAA Tournament match-ups in the future could further the competitive nature these past match-ups have shown. Maryland will play Syracuse on time, at least, before their final ACC tournament in March. A