TAKING ON THE TERPS

It was hardly one of the rim-rocking, dazzling dunks that Duke fans have come to anticipate from DeMarcus Nelson, but the sophomore's easy alley-oop late in the first half against Wake Forest provided the first indication that Nelson's injured foot has healed.

"I've seen him do that with no contact in the last week," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "But in game conditions instinctively he went up. That means that he's not favoring his foot and that's what you worry about when a kid comes back from an injury, is they compensate and they favor and then something else happens."

Just five days after his return to the court, Nelson was thrown right back into the mix, logging 11 minutes as Duke (14-0, 2-0 in the ACC) beat the Demon Deacons. He'll be in the lineup again tonight when Maryland visits Cameron Indoor Stadium at 9 p.m.

Many of Nelson's teammates stressed the importance of regaining the athletic forward, who started the first four games of the season before injuring his foot Nov. 23 against Drexel.

"When a team faces some adversity or loses one of its key players it's always a time when you can take it one of two ways," senior Lee Melchionni said. "You can go in the tank or get better. I think we chose to get better, and we're a better team because of it. And now with him coming back, it adds another dimension to our team."

The return of Nelson to Duke's lineup will certainly be an asset against a Terrapin team that has had the Blue Devils' number recently.

No. 23 Maryland (11-3, 1-1) have won the last three meetings between the two ACC teams. In the most recent contest, the Terrapins defeated Duke, 99-92, at the Comcast Center as five Blue Devils fouled out of the overtime contest.

"The thing about Maryland is that they always believe they can beat us," Melchionni said. "There's no intimidation factor and they're not scared. They're going to come in here with fire and fervor and they'll be ready to play, and I look forward to that."