"When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth."

Once tonight's Elite Eight matchup between the Terps and the Cardinal had been set by the teams' respective wins on Saturday, the BasketCases began wondering whether Maryland and Stanford had ever played each other before. Certainly not in recent memory. Well, thanks to Ann Killion in the San Jose Mercury News, we've learned that the teams have met once, back in 1982, "back when dinosaurs roamed the earth," according to Ann. Well, at least back before the players were even born.

And there are plenty of other interesting tidbits to be learned from this morning's preview articles, including the importance of rebounding, who lost which recruit to whom, which Hollywood actors the teams have adopted, which opposing players are childhood friends, and which played on USA Basketball together.

But of course all of these relationships will not matter once that ball is thrown in the air in Spokane at 9:30 PM EDT. It's going to be a very late night. Start the caffeine drip now!