Shelden Williams recorded the first triple-double of the Coach K Era as the top-ranked Blue Devils destroyed No. 23 Maryland, 76-52, and snapped their three-game losing streak against the Terrapins (11-4, 1-2 in the ACC).
"Shelden had an amazing night," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "No question about it."
Williams tied a Duke (15-0, 3-0) record with 10 blocks, as he led the Blue Devils' stifling defensive effort and notched 11 rebounds and 19 points to complete the first triple-double since Gene Banks accomplished the feat in 1978.
Legendary players such as Christian Laettner, Grant Hill and Jay Williams have passed through Duke's program without playing such a complete game. And Williams' triple-double Wednesday night was not just the third in school history but also the first that included blocks instead of assists.
In the shadow of Williams' historic game, guard J.J. Redick also turned in a stand-out performance and was in familiar territory with a team-high 27 points. Redick, however, did something he had never done in any game during his storied four-year career: The 6-foot-4 All-American slam dunked.
With the Blue Devils comfortably ahead and just over five minutes left on the clock, freshman Greg Paulus stole the ball from Parrish Brown near midcourt and hit a wide-open Redick in stride.
The senior then sent the Cameron Crazies into a frenzy, as he went up with two hands and slammed in his first dunk in a game.
"I'll give it maybe like a 5.142 out of 10," Redick said of his jam. "It wasn't much of a blow it was kind of weak. There hadn't been a dead ball in a while so my legs were kind of tired, and you know that just switched further affirmation to me on why I shouldn't dunk. It takes way too much energy, and for the next possession my legs were just like shooting with pain. So no more dunking for me. I got my one, I'm done."
On a night where Redick struggled from three-point range, connecting on only four of his 13 attempts, the senior again showed his new offensive prowess, putting the ball on the floor, attacking the rim and even dishing out passes when he had open looks from behind the arc.
Maryland entered Wednesday night's game as the top-scoring team in the ACC, but Duke pressured the ball the full 40 minutes and held the Terrapins to their lowest offensive output of the season.
"We thought we could really deny passing lanes tonight and our kids did, and that was something we really exploited right from the get-go," Krzyzewski said. "That was set up by [Paulus'] pressure on the ball."
With William's terrorizing Maryland in the paint and Duke maintaining consistent ball pressure, the Terrapins shot an abysmal 30.2 percent from the field and turned the ball over 29 times while tallying only six assists.
"Give Duke credit for their defense," Maryland head coach Gary Williams said. "We couldn't handle it tonight. We've handled it before, but we couldn't handle it tonight."
Sophomore guard DeMarcus Nelson helped in the defensive effort in the first half, playing in his first game at Cameron Indoor Stadium since injuring his foot Nov. 23 against Drexel.
Nelson had four of the Blue Devils' 19 steals but was slow to get up after being called for an offensive foul. He returned to the Duke bench after halftime on crutches.
Krzyzewski said that the team will know more about Nelson's injury when X-rays are taken today, but he said he is hopeful the Blue Devils' only sophomore did not suffer an injury to the same place on the foot.
After successfully avenging its only home loss from last season, Duke will have two days off before traveling to Clemson. The Tigers had been undefeated until Dec. 21 and topped Wake Forest in overtime Wednesday night.
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