Stumble It!
Two of the Nation's hottest teams face off in Cameron Indoor Stadium this evening. Maryland is coming off an upset of UNC, while Duke is riding their own wave into this important ACC game.
Thanks to the ACC giving Duke the leagues toughest schedule, Maryland may well win the tie breaker, should it come to that. Unless Duke wins out against Maryland and UNC, they are assured a fifth or sixth place regular season finish going into the tournament.
With it being the last game in Cameron, the Crazies are sure to be rocking and will need to be. Maryland has been a thorn in Dukes side, having had a good amount of success in the our building.
It wasn't that long ago, that obnoxious Terp fans stomped on the Duke logo at center court. Somehow, the ACC then made Maryland our rival, meaning we play them twice a year. Forget NCSU, the team a few miles down the road ... Duke is big TV bucks and they sometime suffer from that.
Duke has been forced to play three games in nine days, due to scheduling to accommodate TV. But that is the norm, so about the game ...
The Terp guards had their way with Paulus and Scheyer in College Park, but it won't be so easy tonight. Since that game Paulus has played some of his best ball of the season and Scheyer is a star in wait, who may decide tonight is good time to show that.
Maryland matches up well with Duke, having an athletic front court. They seem to get contributions from everybody when they face Duke, so the Devils will have to counter that.
It will be important for players like Henderson and Thomas to show up, despite their youth. Duke will have to value the ball against the Terp pressure defense too.
A loss would be devastating to Duke, but hardly the end of the world. With rival UNC in wait after another loss, Duke will be hard pressed to finish in the top four, but building momentum is important and a win over Maryland assures them of a winning record in the regular season.
Let's make sure that the kettle is hot!
Beat the Twerps!
I hope the crazies have some home cooking in store and get behind their fellow students early and often. While I expect the turtles to come to play, I think we will too.
My pick is Duke 72 Maryland 62
Match up -
 Maryland Off vs. Duke Def |
Duke Off vs. Maryland Def |
| 79.9 Pts F 59.0 Pts A 48.1 FG% 40.9 FG% 37.0 Reb. 28.7 Reb. |
69.6 Pts F 67.6 Pts A 47.2 FG% 39.0 FG% 28.7 Reb. 35.9 Reb. |