COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Steve Blake cringes at the thought of leaving Maryland without cutting down the nets at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

During his outstanding four-year run with the Terrapins, Blake has dealt out nearly 1,000 assists, earned an NCAA championship ring and twice played in the Final Four. But the senior point guard has yet to experience the thrill of winning the ACC tournament.

His final chance begins this week. No. 14 Maryland (19-8) opens play Friday night against North Carolina as the tournament's second-seeded team.

"Winning it all would mean a lot," Blake said. "Since I've been here I haven't been able to achieve that goal. Now I've got one last chance to get something that has eluded me."

Blake is not alone. Although the defending national champions are a lock to make the NCAA tournament for a 10th straight season, they still have a huge gap in the trophy case when it comes to the conference's most prestigious event. Maryland hasn't won it since 1984, and has played in the title game only once in the past 18 years.

"It's definitely something we've talked about," forward Tahj Holden said. "Winning it all would be an accomplishment, not just for us as seniors, but for Maryland as a whole."

Then again, winning the ACC is not a prerequisite for success. The Terrapins were eliminated by North Carolina State in the semifinal round last year, then rolled to the first NCAA title in the history of the program.

"One of our main goals this year was to win an ACC championship," senior guard Drew Nicholas said. "But if you look at the bigger scheme of things, maybe it's not that important. We're also playing for a seed in the national tournament."

There once was a time when winning the conference crown was the only way to advance to the NCAA tournament. That's no longer the case.

Even if North Carolina pulls off an upset Friday, the Terrapins will still be alive in their quest to successfully defend their national title.

"It's something you'd like to win, but I don't slit my wrists if we don't," Maryland coach Gary Williams said.

The tournament is much more important for a team like North Carolina, which must win it all to earn a spot in the 64-team NCAA field. Although Maryland beat the Tar Heels twice this season, including a 96-56 rout on Feb. 22, North Carolina is coming off an inspirational victory over Duke and is a threat to end Maryland's string of eight consecutive first-round wins in the ACC tournament.

"North Carolina played great against Duke, no question," Williams said. "I'm sure they're better now than when they played us last."

Maryland, on the other hand, must rebound from a disappointing overtime defeat Sunday at Virginia.

"We were on a roll until that game," Nicholas said. "That took away some of our momentum, so now we want to get it back."

Because the ACC tournament is usually held in North Carolina, teams like Maryland and Virginia find the venue to be anything but neutral. The site this year is the Greensboro Coliseum, where the Len Bias-led Terrapins prevailed in 1984.

Duplicating that feat won't be easy. The way the bracket is set up, it's possible that Maryland could face three straight teams from North Carolina -- the Tar Heels, Duke and top-seeded Wake Forest.

"There will be a lot of Carolina fans down there. It's really going to be tough," Nicholas said. "We have to understand that's where a majority of the teams are from, and deal with it. We just have to be ready to play."

Nicholas has been looking forward to this moment since the Terrapins began practice in mid-October.

"This is the time of year that you're waiting for," he said. This is the time of year that players shine the brightest. This is what you play for -- the ACC tournament and then the NCAA championship."