Duke Dominates Maryland In Durham, 85-44

The Duke Blue Devils were pumped from the opening tip-off, and routed the Maryland Terrapins 85-44 today at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

It was Maryland’s worst loss under coach Gary Williams.

Duke (18-1 5-0 ACC) led by as many as 44 points, as the game got out of hand for the fearless Terps  before halftime.

Maryland (13-6 2-3 ACC) is facing a tough road ahead, as the next three of their opponents are in the Associated top ten.

The “Dukies” made spectacular plays with relative ease as Maryland could not compete at the same level as their ACC foe.

Gerald Henderscn scored 17 points to boost Duke’s chances of overtaking the Wake Forest Demon Deacons for the No. 1 ranking in the nation. (Wake Forest lost earlier in the week to Virginia Tech 78-71)

The Blue Devils have not been ranked No. 1 since the final poll of the 2005-2006 season.

In the previous six seasons (1998-2004) Duke had reached the top spot at least once.

That is an impressive feat, and I am a die-hard turtle supporter.

It hurts to complement, in my opinion, the New York Yankees of college basketball.

But they deserve it after this crushing defeat.

Guess who plays at Wake Forest Wednesday night?

It is the red-hot Blue Devils, but of course.

“It’ll be a big deal for our guys and it’s a big deal for us because it means we’re playing really well, said coach Mike Krzyzewski about the No. 1 ranking. “We told them last week, let’s just play. Don’t worry about anything. You don’t get anything from it, but a really big headline when you lose.”

Duke shut down Maryland’s offense, holding the Terrapins to two of 12 three-point attempts made.

Overall, the Terps shot just 28 percent from the field.

They were also losers in the rebounding statistical category, giving away a 56-38 advantage to the highly talented Duke squad.

In comparison, Duke made 43 percent of their field goal attempts, and finished the game burying 12 of 25 three-point attempts.

Not only was this the fourth largest margin of defeat in school history for Maryland, it was their worst loss in Atlantic Coast Conference play ever.

Ouch!

This one is going to leave a mark.

Back in 1963, Maryland lost by 39 points to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. (Eight teams in the ACC has since increased to 12 teams)

Coming into this contest, most trusted ACC observers believed Maryland matched up well with the Blue Devils.

ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas thought if Maryland could execute their pressure defense, and dictate the tempo of the game, Duke could be in for a surprise.

He was wrong.

Gifted forward Landon Milbourne led the Terrapins with 19 points, but the rest of the team shot a dismal 19 percent from the field. (9-for-48)

Leading scorer in four major offensive categories, Greivis Vasquez managed four points on 2-for-10 shooting.

He has got to start shooting better or Maryland is toast for the rest of the season.

This is his sixth straight poor shooting performance.

“It wasn’t how good they are defensively. What makes them good is their intensity, said a bewildered Vasquez.  “If you don’t play as hard as they do, you’re not going to win games in here. You’ve got to play hard.  If you don’t, you’re going to lose by 40.”

This statement is shocking. 

Is he saying his team gave up, or didn’t match the intensity Duke brought to the table?

Gary Williams is about as intense as it gets on the sidelines.

Those veins creep out of his forehead often during games.

There is no quit in coach Williams.

So Vasquez should not do so either.

To imply that if his team played harder, they would have been able to handle Duke is silly.

Duke is better Maryland.

And today, they proved just how much better they are than three quarters of everyone in college basketball.

Notes:

The 40-15 score at halftime, was the largest lead Duke has ever had against an ACC opponent.

North Carolina State coach Kay Yow succumbed to a two decades- long battle with breast cancer this morning.

She was the sister of current Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow.

Duke’s first All-American basketball player Bill Werber died Thursday.