The Duke-Maryland rivalry isn't what it used to be.
Four years ago, every matchup between the two teams garnered nearly as much attention and anticipation as the No. 2 Blue Devils (17-1, 4-0 in the ACC) and their Carolina blue counterparts. But after underwhelming performances in the regular season and lackluster recruiting efforts, the Terrapins (13-5, 2-2) have only reached the NCAA Tournament once in the past four seasons.
But overlooking Maryland Saturday at 12 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium isn't an option for Duke.
With Wake Forest falling at home to Virginia Tech Wednesday, the Blue Devils, who received four first-place votes last week, appear poised to take the top spot for the first time since 2006. And after watching the Demon Deacons lose their first game as the top-ranked team in the nation, Duke is sure to be wary of the threat of an upset-especially in the ACC, which head coach Mike Krzyzewski considers the best league in the country.
"When you take an in-depth look, our league is the toughest league," said Krzyzewski, who is looking to place his team atop the rankings for the 111th time in school history. "We have four teams in the top 10, and the bottom teams, thus far, are giving the top teams battles and winning some. I think that's what we call a great league."
The Terrapins last defeated the Blue Devils two years ago, sweeping Duke in both contests.
After losing two straight conference games on the road to Miami and Florida State this year, the Terrapins rebounded to defeat Virginia. Maryland lost both ACC games by a combined five points.
"We could have very easily won [four] in a row in the conference right now," Maryland head coach Gary Williams said after the Cavalier win.
Maryland's offense runs almost entirely through junior Greivis Vasquez, who tends to spar with the Cameron Crazies whenever he comes to Durham. The guard currently leads the team in points, assists, rebounds and steals per game. Only Landon Milbourne and Adrian Bowie average double figures in points for the Terrapins, compared with four Blue Devils.
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.
"He can take over, he can elevate. But when he does that, he can also make a pass to an open teammate," Krzyzewski said. "He can produce points-not just his, but for others. He's been playing really well. He's played well all year, but since the middle of December, he's played really well."
Henderson has led the Blue Devils in scoring for each of the last four contests, bringing his points average to 14.4, good enough for second-best behind forward Kyle Singler.
Unlike most of their ACC games, the Blue Devils will have the size advantage, with only one Terrapin taller than 6-foot-9. That should be good news for post players Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas, who are averaging 6.3 and 5.8 points, respectively.
And despite some positive signs for Duke, if the Blue Devils have learned nothing else from former top-ranked teams Wake Forest and North Carolina, they know not to take their conference foes lightly-especially with the No. 1 ranking on the line.
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