On Dec. 8, Maryland center Jordan Williams expressed frustration that his team had kept coming close to upending nationally ranked opponents without breaking through for wins.
Five weeks — and one more defeat to a Top 25 team — later, the sophomore found himself wearing the same pained expression and singing the same refrain.
"We're looking for that one big win," Williams said after the Terps defeated struggling Wake Forest to push their record to a respectable — but not glowing — 11-5 (1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Williams and his teammates are pleased that the schedule affords them another opportunity, against No. 7 Villanova on Saturday in Philadelphia, to knock off a top nonconference foe. Led by guards Corey Stokes (17.0 points per game) and Corey Fisher (15.3 points), Villanova (15-1) has won 10 in a row. Its only loss was to Tennessee.
"It's about time we get over that hump and start beating these teams," said Williams, who needs double doubles in his next two games to match the team record of 12 straight set by Len Elmore in 1973-74.
Beating a Top 25 team would not only appeal to Maryland players and fans, but it also would burnish the team's NCAA tournament credentials.
The Terps could use a signature win in a season in which the ACC is not as strong as in seasons past. That means Maryland's conference wins are likely to be weighted less in the eyes of the tournament selection committee than in many other years, and a .500 conference mark may not ensure a spot in the 68-team field.
Maryland tied for first with Duke last season in the ACC regular-season standings and easily made the NCAA tournament. In 2008-09, the Terps were 7-9 in the conference but made the NCAA postseason field after a strong showing in the ACC tournament.
Maryland's best chances to improve its NCAA hopes this season came in losses — all by single digits — to Pittsburgh, Illinois, Temple and Duke. All are currently in the Top 25.
"We've been playing all these top teams so close," Williams said. "I don't think we've lost by 10 all year."
Maryland has not been shooting well of late. The Terps shot 38.2 percent (5-for-18 on 3-pointers) in Wednesday night's 74-55 victory over Wake.
But the Terps have been playing solid defense. The Demon Deacons shot just 31.7 percent. Maryland held Duke to 40.3 percent in the game before that. The Terps have said all season that defense is what could enable them to topple the nation's best teams.
"Defense wins championships," said senior Cliff Tucker, who has played well lately in a sixth-man role. "Coach [Gary Williams] was talking about the national championship — the football game — and how everybody was expecting both teams to score a lot. And what happened? It was a low-scoring game. That's just another example of how defense is going to win games. It's the same thing with basketball."
Maryland is second in the ACC to Florida State in field-goal percentage defense (36.6 percent). The Seminoles held Duke to 31.3 percent shooting in handing the Blue Devils their first loss of the season Wednesday night.
"I think we can be one of the best defensive teams in the country if we set our minds to it," Tucker said.
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