People around the Atlantic Coast Conference knew. They knew enough about Juan Dixon, Maryland's 6-foot-3 string bean of a guard, to vote him ACC Player of the Year, ignoring the pomp and circumstance emanating from the near coronation of Duke's Jason Williams.

On April Fools' Day, Dixon proved the honor wasn't a joke, topping off a sensational run through the NCAA Tournament by scoring a game-high 18 points to lead the Terrapins past the Indiana Hoosiers in the national championship, 64-52. The national title is the first in school history for Maryland. Dixon, who averaged 25.8 points a game in the tournament, was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.

Maryland, the ACC regular-season champion, finished with a record of 32-4. Indiana fell to 25-12. But it wasn't easy for Maryland, as Indiana forced the flashier, more explosive Terrapins into a drab, half-court style.

Indiana guard Dane Fife denied Dixon the ball ¯ he scored his 18 points on only nine shots ¯ and physical interior defense stymied Terrapin forwards Lonny Baxter and Chris Wilcox in the first half Maryland's lead was only six, 31-25, at halftime. While Maryland struggled on the offensive end, the Hoosiers relied on the three-point shot, knocking down eight of their first 12 attempts from beyond the arc.

Indiana chipped away at the Maryland lead early on in the second half, and grabbed its only lead of the game when Jared Jeffries' lay-in was goaltended with 9:53 to play, giving the Hoosiers a 44-42 lead.

But Dixon shook free from Fife and drained a three from the corner on the Terps' next possession to promptly reclaim the lead. Dixon and Baxter would combine for all nine Maryland points in a 9-2 spurt that put the Hoosiers away. Baxter finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds.

On March 30, Indiana upset Oklahoma, the second seed out of the West region, 73-64, in the first national semifinal. Hoosier reserve forward Jeff Newton was a force inside, coming off the bench to lead Indiana with 19 points as well as swatting four Oklahoma shots.

Sooner guard Hollis Price hit only one shot from the floor and managed just six points. Oklahoma finished its season at 27-4.

In the second semifinal, Maryland advanced to the title game by outgunning Kansas, the top seed out of the Midwest, 97-88. Dixon dropped in 33 points against the Jayhawks, and Chris Wilcox added 18

and nine rebounds. Wilcox and reserve forwards Tahj Holden and Ryan Randle filled in admirably for Baxter, who played only 17 minutes because of foul trouble.

The Terps' inside trio held their ground against Kansas big men Drew Gooden, Nick Collison and Wayne Simien. Collison did lead the Jayhawks with 21 points, and Gooden had 15, but the majority of his ­ including a pair of three-pointers ­ came late in the second half as Kansas rallied desperately. The Jayhawks finished at 33-4 on the season.