MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The fourth installment of Duke-Maryland contained a little bit of everything from the first three.
From the first game, it had Jason Williams' scoring spree following his game-long shooting struggles. From the second game, it had a frightening Duke injury, this time a concussion to Chris Duhon in contrast to Carlos Boozer's fractured third metatarsal. From the third game, it had a critical tap-in by Nate James that helped the Blue Devils overcome the Terps late in the game.
And from all three, it had the victor rallying from double-digits to emerge triumphant, a strange phenomenon that was magnified by Duke erasing a 22-point deficit to win by 11.
After playing for the fourth and final time this season, the two teams parted in good spirits for the first time this season, as many of the players even exchanged hugs at centercourt. But it was certainly not the first time this season that the Terps departed a game against their rival wondering exactly what went wrong.
"You can't have a team like Duke on the ropes any more than we had them," Maryland reserve Drew Nicholas said.
In most cases, that would be true, but the Terps' 33-point swing by game's end brought back memories of the team's 10-point collapse in the final seconds of their shocking loss in College Park, Md. The emotions in Maryland's locker room after the game ranged from silently satisfied with the program's first trip to the Final Four, to the many more morose faces who tried to hide their anguish with their jerseys or quivering hands.
Shooting star Juan Dixon said he was not ashamed of his team's performance Saturday night, but there was not a Terp to be found who had not been shattered by coming so close to the title game.
"Hopefully [the pain] will go away soon," forward Terence Morris said. "It hurts a lot because the taste was there. The taste was on the tip of my tongue, of being able to advance and get to the national championship game-I'm still kind of in awe of even saying the words 'national championship game.' We were right there, we had it and it got away from us."
The Terrapins-Blue Devils rivalry, though non-existent in previous years, took a major step onto the national scene this year.
The Blue Devils did not lose their stranglehold on the series' win-loss column, improving their all-time record against Maryland to 95-53. Nonetheless, the Terrapins proved that the two teams are not nearly as disparate as their records indicate.
In each of the four games, Maryland demonstrated a capacity to bully its antagonist, building considerable leads in all three of their losses and dominating in their victory.
Most rivalries are fortunate to produce two vintage games in a single season. Duke and Maryland put together two in the postseason alone. After seeing two of their teams advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1991, ACC fans will have to wait another year to see what lies in store for what may be the conference's top rivalry.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.