THE CONTENTS: No. 2 Duke looks to move up to the top spot in the country for the first time in three years when it hosts Maryland Saturday at noon at Cameron Indoor Stadium. You can catch the game on ESPN with Mike Patrick and Len Elmore and special sideline reporter Abby Waner and hear it locally on 620 AM.
THE EXPOSITION: The Blue Devils (17-1, 4-0) continued their good game-bad game stretch this week by outlasting Georgetown last Saturday and sneaking by N.C. State Wednesday night. Overall, Duke has won nine consecutive games since its loss at Michigan.
The Terrapins (13-5, 2-2), meanwhile, are coming off an 84-78 home win over Virginia, in which Maryland nearly blew a 15-point halftime lead to one of the worst teams in the conference. In the ACC, the Terps also have beaten Georgia Tech (a strong challenger for that "worst team in the conference" award) with close losses at Miami and at Florida State. Maryland had a weird performance in the non-conference, with an 18-point win over current No. 7 Michigan State (who at the time was missing Goran Suton), 20-point losses to Gonzaga and Georgetown, a nice win over Michigan, and a disastrous home loss to Morgan State.
Duke and Maryland play twice each year, with the Blue Devils sweeping the series last season, rebutting the Terps' sweep in 2007. Overall, Duke leads the series 103-60, including a 48-14 mark at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
THE PROTAGONISTS: The story of Duke over the last fortnight has been that of Gerald Henderson. Heading into the season, most people--myself included--thought the Blue Devils would go as far as Henderson could take them. His slow start to the season, however, put the spotlight back on Kyle Singler (you can bet it will be Henderson replacing Singler in ESPN's Star Watch prior to the game Saturday) and to a lesser extent Jon Scheyer. These last four games, however, Henderson has done nothing short of carry Duke to victories. It's difficult to narrow down what has clicked in Henderson's game: He's become much more aggressive (even when he wasn't hitting shots early against Georgia Tech, he kept taking them), he's knocking down both those midrange jumpers and three-pointers, and he still has those one or two drives to the basket that leave your jaw on the floor each game.
Henderson has had good stretches before, but this is the longest and best run of his Duke career. And the question lingering in the back of everyone's mind now is: Is this the blossoming of Gerald Henderson, or is it just a tease?
P.S. It's been excellent timing by Henderson, by the way, since Singler and Scheyer in particular have been struggling of late. If the Blue Devils want to win in Winston-Salem Wednesday, they'll probably need all three.
THE ANTAGONISTS: This may be the nadir of Maryland basketball under Gary Williams, although the Terrapins have outperformed my expectations thus far this season. Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes are the only noticeable names on the Maryland roster this season, unless you count Landon Milbourne, who I look at as the poor man's Byron Mouton (in turn, the poor man's Laron Profit).
Vasquez is still the guy, averaging 17 ppg, 6 rpg, and 4.8 apg. Adrian Bowie has provided a lift the last few games, averaging over 16 points in ACC contests. Maryland is a very perimeter-oriented team, with no real threats in the post. Six-foot-8 Braxton Dupree, who averages just under 15 minutes per contest, is the tallest player in the Terrapin rotation. As a result, it may not be stunning to see Duke start David McClure instead of Brian Zoubek.
THE CONFLICT: Is the rivalry between Duke and Maryland enough to prevent the Blue Devils from overlooking the Terrapins?
THE BIGGEST SUBPLOT: Could this be Gary Williams' final game in Cameron as the head coach at Maryland?
Williams is on the hottest seat of his career, and he may not survive it this time. The Terrapins have missed the tournament three of the past four seasons, and he's reached the bottom of the barrel in recruiting (question to ponder: How much has Georgetown's resurgence hurt Maryland? Can't you see DaJuan Summers lacing them up in College Park?)
How far have things fallen? Check out this line from an excellent article in the Washington Post:
The most stunning aspect about Maryland's loss to Morgan State was that it should no longer be considered a stunning upset. Take Greivis Vasquez out of the equation and Morgan State had more talent than the Terrapins. Maryland still has the potential to beat anyone on any court (see North Carolina last season), but the Terrapins also can lose to a talented mid- or low-major program on their home court.
The Post makes the case it's a recruiting issue, and not a coaching one. At the same time, in the college game, are those two things ever so exclusive?
WELL, THIS IS A PRETTY BIG SUBPLOT, TOO: It's no secret that Vasquez isn't the most popular player in the ACC. He lived up to that reputation this week, claiming Cameron Indoor as his house.
“That’s my house,” the junior guard said. “I love going in there. It’s going to be fun.”
Of course, Vasquez needs another home, because he's kind of alienated the co-tenants at his current digs.
WHAT'S THE REAL REASON ABBY WANER IS A SIDELINE REPORTER FOR THIS GAME?: Patrick and Elmore both have pretty strong ties to Maryland, with Elmore being a three-time All-American in College Park, and Patrick did play-by-play for basketball and football for the Terrapins early in his career. Waner is there strictly to balance biases.
WHAT THE DUKE MEDIA ARE SAYING: From the prestigious Chronicle:
If the Blue Devils' shots fail to fall, as they did in the first half against N.C. State, Duke might be the next powerhouse to lose to an unranked conference opponent. But if junior Gerald Henderson can continue to ride his current hot streak, the Blue Devils might not have to worry about any scoring woes.
IN THE INTEREST OF UNBIASED BLOGGING: The link to sports blog of The Diamondback, Maryland's student newspaper.
TIM'S FAVORITE PLAYER IN MARYLAND HISTORY IS...: Blasphemous, I know, but I'm going with turn-of-the-century point guard Steve Blake. Blake and fellow Tim favorite and Jersey Guy Jason Williams were always, to me, the best part of those rivalry years. Blake always seemed to play Williams tougher than anyone else, and the biggest catalyst for Duke's miracle minute was the fact that Blake had already fouled out of the game.
WHAT DID TIM LEARN WHILE WRITING THIS BLOG POST?: The phrase "top spot" is a palindrome.
THE DENOUEMENT: Maryland, like N.C. State, has played Duke tough even as it's gone through some lean years recently. That trend will continue for a half or so Saturday before the Blue Devils start to pull away. The Terrapins will throw a bunch of different defenders at Henderson, but they don't have a good answer for Singler. Duke's best strategy on offense may be to go small: play Nolan Smith, Greg Paulus, Henderson, Scheyer, and Singler, forcing someone like Dave Neal to check a guy on the perimeter.
The biggest advantage for the Blue Devils, though, is on the other side of the court. Where are Maryland's points going to come from? Scheyer will probably be on Vasquez initially, and unless Greivis goes off, it's tough to see the Terrapins scoring the 70+ points they're going to need to win this game against the Duke defense.
THE VERDICT: Duke, 77-63.
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