Maryland has traversed the road to the Final Four before.

Like last year, when coach Gary Williams’ Terrapins squandered a 22-point lead in a 95-84 loss to Duke in the national semifinals at New Orleans.

“The advantage of having played in the Final Four last year is knowing how this week works,” the Terps’ coach said Tuesday. “We’re not overwhelmed by returning to the Final Four. Getting to the Final Four had been a goal for a long time and we finally made it last year, which makes it easier to comprehend everything this year. Hopefully that will help us.”

Maryland (30-4) will meet Kansas (33-3) in a national semifinal approximately 7:47 p.m. Saturday in Atlanta.

Seniors Lonny Baxter (6-foot-8), Juan Dixon (6-3) and Byron Mouton (6-6) played in last year’s Final Four.

“We are very fortunate this year to have senior leadership,” Williams said. “Our seniors have done a terrific job. I think Lonny and Juan have done a great job during their collegiate careers and certainly have future careers in basketball. The good thing is it’s very easy to talk to our three seniors. They’ll be honest with you.

“The fact that Byron transferred from Tulane and sat out a year is unusual. Sometimes you have to re-invent yourself, and Byron has done a good job of that the past two years.”

Mouton is averaging 11.3 points and 5.0 boards a game.

“Both Lonny and Juan were considered blue-chip recruits. I think there are a lot of guys who left school early who are jealous of the experience that Juan and Lonny have had.”

Baxter averages 15.6 points and 8.1 boards, while Dixon, one of the country’s best defenders, averages 20.1 points and 4.6 boards. He has 99 assists and 81 turnovers in 34 games.

Maryland, like KU, lost its season opener. The Jayhawks to Ball State in Hawaii, while Maryland fell to Arizona at the Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic in New York. Since then, KU has fallen only to Oklahoma and UCLA, while Maryland has lost to Oklahoma, North Carolina State and Duke.

“We were picked very high in the preseason and we had to deal with that through the practices leading up to our first game,” Williams said. “After losing that first game to Arizona, right away people thought something was wrong. However, a lot of things have happened with this team. We’ve progressively gotten better this year and I think we’re a much better team than in December.”

Kansas has also dealt with high expectations.

“Kansas is a team that has been No. 1 quite a bit of the year, and they certainly have a great frontline and great backcourt which gives them tremendous balance in the way they play,” Williams said. “They’re a terrific transition team and they play very good defense. They know how to put the ball back in the basket, which is probably the best thing they do. We have our work cut out for us.”

Kansas and its 91.0-point scoring average present quite a test for Maryland and its equally-impressive 85.3 scoring mark. KU allows 74.1 points a game, Maryland 70.9.

“Transition is the key,” Mouton said. “We have to slow them down.”

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Mouton overcomes adversity: Mouton considered quitting the team in December after his brother, Kevin, was shot to death in Houston. Mouton learned of his brother’s death during a game against Connecticut.

“I wanted to be with my mom and stop whatever I was doing,” Mouton said Tuesday. “But she made me realize that the most important thing is to keep doing what I’ve been doing. She said one thing my brother always wanted me to do was to keep playing ball and get an education.”

Mouton’s physical play and defense have been key components in Maryland’s success this season. Mouton has used December’s tragedy as motivation late in the season and in the NCAA Tournament.

“Ever since that day, I don’t want to take anything for granted,” he said. “Every time I step on that court, I want to give it my best effort.”

While the death of his brother has been the biggest challenge Mouton has faced in his two seasons at Maryland, it hasn’t been the only one. Mouton transferred from Tulane without knowing much about the success of Maryland’s program.

“Coming in my first year, I wanted to be in a different environment,” he said. “I just wanted to help the team and win the national championship.”

Mouton averaged 9.6 points in his first season with the Terps and 11.3 points this year. The senior’s biggest contribution has been on defense and his presence in the locker room.

“I preached to my team this year that it would be a big disappointment if we didn’t make the Final Four,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story