ATLANTA - Although it would have seemed unthinkable only three weeks ago after an embarrassing loss to Florida State, the Maryland Terrapins are looking very much like the strongest team in the ACC.
Coming off of an 11-point win over Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium and a 35-point slaughtering of Virginia in Cole Field House, the third-seeded Terps (21-9) cruised past sixth-seeded Wake Forest Friday in the final game of the evening at the Georgia Dome. Maryland, which has now won six games in a row since the loss to FSU, annihilated the Demon Deacons (19-10) behind punishing defense, several clutch three-pointers by point guard Steve Blake and an overwhelming scoring advantage inside the paint.
The victory over 22nd-ranked Wake Forest marked the fifth straight for Maryland against top-25 teams.
"We wanted to build on what we did in the last five games of the season and not look back," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "I told the players that we didn't want that to be the highlight of our season."
Following a low scoring first half, the Terps appeared to be in the midst of a dogfight thanks to 17 combined points from Robert O'Kelley and Josh Howard, who each played 19 of the opening 20 minutes. Although no other Demon Deacon scored more than four points before halftime, Maryland was unable to pull away early because of especially poor shooting. Aside from center Lonny Baxter, who muscled his way around the paint at will for a 4-for-5 first half from the floor, the Terrapins shot only 32 percent.
But that all changed in the second half, as the Terps took their 31-26 halftime lead and expanded it to 49-30 with seven minutes of overpowering basketball. Blake hit three-pointers on two of Maryland's first three possessions, and after a fast-break layup by Broderick Hicks to open the half, the Demon Deacons connected on only one field goal over nearly seven minutes.
"I thought we fought hard against every possession that Wake Forest had and we just didn't give them any open looks" Williams said.
Only O'Kelley was able to shoot the ball with consistency Friday night, as the senior made half of his field-goal attempts, including 4-for-9 from three-point range. His teammates, however, were ineffective to the tune of 27 percent. The stagnation on offense for Wake Forest was underscored by the team's five assists for the entire game, a remarkably small total that was nearly doubled by the nine that Blake handed out himself.
"Defensively right now, they're at the top of their game," Wake coach Dave Odom said. "They are awfully tough to score on right now, or they were for us. And our shot selection, I thought, was questionable at best."
Baxter chipped in his seventh double-double for Maryland, tallying 14 points and 11 rebounds. Byron Mouton, Juan Dixon and Terence Morris combined for 32 points and 18 rebounds against a worn-down Wake defense.
Although Wake began 12-0 and has remained in the top 25 throughout the season, nothing is guaranteed now when it comes to the NCAA tournament. The Demon Deacons still expect a bid from the selection committee Sunday, but it would be nothing new if Odom's club was left out. O'Kelley, a senior, has never received an invitation to the Big Dance in his four years at Wake.
"I think as a team we feel good about it; it gives us something to look forward to," O'Kelley said. "We can't do anything about it until the selection committee decides on Sunday. We just gotta be patient and wait."
Wake will also await more news in the coming days, as team doctors will examine forward Craig Dawson, who left the game after playing only one minute. Dawson separated his left arm and X-rays following the game were inconclusive.
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