Okay, there is no sugar coating how painful last nights loss was for a Duke fan.  Maryland swept Duke aside in route to their sixth straight win, putting Duke firmly planted in sixth position in the ACC.

On this night, three Maryland seniors and three juniors took advantage of a young Duke team, yet the Devils still could have won if ...

Well, there are a lot of ifs, but the one thing Duke sorely lacked was communication.  This was especially true on the defensive end, where the Maryland sets were successful all evening.

Don't think communication wasn't a problem on offense either, despite the Blue Devils scoring much more than their average.  A quick look at the stats shows just nine assists.  Nine!  So, while Duke scored some points, they failed to find each other.  Proof of this is no player had more than two assists.

To show how telling this stat is, look to Maryland freshman, Greivis Vasquez.  I am forced to learn the spelling of his name after he dished out three more assists than the entire Duke team, his total being twelve.

Twelve assists are made easier when your team is running the court and constantly finding holes in the defense.  You would being hard pressed to find anyone who thought Maryland would throw up a bushel of points on a team that ranks with the Nations best with points allowed.

It was one of those nights for Duke.  Despite the score being close, it felt as if we were being whipped the whole game.  The crowd had a hard time finding moments to get in the game. Every time Duke made it close, before you could get a good clap in the Terps scored on an outlet pass to Strawberry.  If Strawberry wasn't there, it would be a kick out for a wide open Mike Jones three.

The experience was especially bad for those watching on TV.  ESPN made it to the game at the 13:59 mark of the first half.  This made it feel as if the emotion meter was on empty or jarred from the outset.

It didn't take long to see that Duke was in for a long night and that the cards would have to fall just right for a win.  Unfortunately, Duke could never stop the Terps momentum and here is the other fixable problem which kept Duke from victory.

When Duke cut into the lead, they took their own momentum away on the offensive end.  There didn't seem to be a continued intensity and the hard work would go to the wayside as Duke would take an off balanced or ill advised one and done shot.  That allowed Maryland to take Uncle Mo right back with their quickness to the ball and boards.

This goes back to nine assists and shows that this team still has a ways to go with their offensive execution.  And there is no reason for Duke to have let up the open looks on the defensive end.  You can bet that this will be addressed in practice this week.

Getting back to ESPN for a moment, you know it is one of those nights when they cut to NFL news on a split screen missing a ton of action.  Add to that, a total glitch in the final moments, meaning you could only witness the entire game having been in Cameron.

So choose your word ... frustrating, dismayed ... they all apply.  This was after all the last home game this season.  Duke wanted to maintain momentum going into the ACC Tournament, but with a trip to Chapel Hill, it may get worse.

There were some bright spots worthy of mention.  Duke never gave up, despite the lack of communication and execution on defense. 

Gerald Henderson showed flashes of brilliance and Paulus continues to shoot the ball quite well.  Add Zoubeks good minutes too.

I attribute this loss to growing pains and think fans might look back on it as a learning experience.  I know the team will break down and grade the film this week and will work hard to rectify the problems.  This is a tireless staff and there is a lot of hooping left in these young Devils.

One day, our eighteen and nineteen year old kids will be the vets, but until that time, fans will have to allow time for growth and that can be painful to those who are spoiled.

Keep in mind that this is new for both the fans and coaches and be happy that Duke rebuilds with a 22-8 record.  It has been a long time since Duke hasn't had players battle tested in the line up.  Rest assured though, that many of these guys will find their groove and that Duke is not going anywhere. 

In fact, the future looks brighter than ever.  Until then, it is still comforting to see we had a chance to win despite a superb Maryland performance.

The Blue Devils will regroup.  As fans, we need to do the same and realize that it's time for the next play.  Just remember that this young team has played three games in nine days and that they are indeed, NCAA bound, which is the sole goal for many programs.

There will be another bounce of the ball. There will be plenty more victories and there will be some growing pains along the way.  Anyway you cut it, I am still proud and steadfast to the blue and white.