Gerald Henderson joked that before Saturday's game, Duke wanted to beat Maryland by 100, given all the hype that had preceded the contest.
Duke got closer than anyone else might have expected.
The No. 2 Blue Devils routed the Terrapins 85-44 in Cameron Indoor Stadium, and with the win, will likely assume the No. 1 national ranking for the first time since the last poll of the 2006 regular season.
Maryland (13-6, 2-3 in the ACC) never came within single digits for the final 30 minutes of the contest, suffering its worst defeat to Duke (18-1, 5-0) in the two teams' 164-game series and its largest-ever defeat in conference play.
"For this team, this is the best we've played," said Henderson, whose 17 points let the junior lead Duke in scoring for the fifth straight game. "When we're playing together and playing defense like we did the entire game, we can be pretty spectacular and explosive."
The Blue Devils showcased just how dominant they already are at the start of the second half, making one of their patented runs coming out of the break.
Junior Jon Scheyer opened the second session with a 3-pointer from the corner-his third of the contest and the first of four baskets from long-range for Duke in the next four minutes-as a 25-point halftime lead ballooned to 36.
Henderson then put on a highlight reel, as he first lobbed an alley-oop to Kyle Singler and on the ensuing possession, laid in a touch pass from Nolan Smith to extend the team's advantage to 40 and send the Cameron crowd into a frenzy unparalleled perhaps since Duke was last ranked No. 1 in the country.
"That's probably one of the loudest-the loudest-it's been this year," Henderson said. "When we can make plays like that and get the crowd excited, it's fun."
"The start of the second half... that was as good as basketball can be played," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "You didn't even know who scored. It was lights-out basketball for about five minutes.... That's one of the beauties of watching sport when we watch something that happens like that. That was beautiful basketball-very unselfish."
Team play was a central aspect of the game, with the Blue Devils recording assists on 23 of 31 field goals.
Maryland's zone defense forced Duke into shooting from outside, but precision passing from the Blue Devils led to many open jumpers, particularly from long range. Duke shot a sizzling 48 percent on 3-pointers, including perfect showings from Henderson and Smith from beyond the arc.
The Terrapins attempted to play pressure defense in the first half, but were repeatedly beaten inside by the Blue Devil frontcourt. Center Brian Zoubek pulled down a team-high nine rebounds to help give the Blue Devils a 56-38 advantage on the boards. He also scored nine points, with forward Lance Thomas chipping in seven. All but four of those points came in the first half when Duke went up 40-15.
"We played a great game from the jump," Smith said. "We got out on 'em early and never let off the gas."
With the No. 1 ranking on the horizon, the Blue Devils knew better than to take anything for granted, especially against an opponent that has traditionally had success in Cameron.
The rout, however, was a clear indication that although Duke wasn't ready to be the top team in the nation a year ago when it lost to an unranked Wake Forest squad on the road, it is certainly deserving of that title now.
"It's an honor and it says that you're playing really well," Krzyzewski said. "But you don't get anything from it except a really big headline when you lose."
And if the Blue Devils continue to dominate like they did against the Terrapins, that loss will, indeed, be a noteworthy story.
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