GREENSBORO, N.C. — On a night where ACC Player of the Year Nolan Smith shot poorly and left the game injured, fellow team captain Kyle Singler picked up the slack and showed why he received the same accolade in the preseason.
Singler bounced back from a cold shooting performance against North Carolina last weekend to score 29 points and lead No. 8 Duke to an 87-71 victory over Maryland in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.
“Maryland is always an unbelievably tough game for us,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Nolan wasn’t having his normal outstanding game, and then he gets hurt. After he got hurt the last eight minutes of the game, our guys were incredibly tough. Kyle had a magnificent game.”
Singler made his presence felt early, scoring six of the Blue Devils’ first eight points. The Terrapins countered with All-ACC forward Jordan Williams and his frontcourt partner Dino Gregory, who combined for 16 first-half points. Williams could have added even more, but he missed all five of his three throw attempts.
Neither team could gain momentum in the first half. Singler’s layup with just over 10 minutes remaining in the period gave Duke its largest lead of the game at that point—a mere four-point cushion. Maryland came right back with a quick 5-0 run capped off by a 3-pointer from Sean Mosley that gave the Terrapins a 22-21 lead.
The rest of the half then became a game of runs. Ryan Kelly ignited the Blue Devils with six straight points, all off midrange jumpers, and his dunk with 6:08 remaining pushed the Duke lead to 31-24, forcing Terrapins head coach Gary Williams to call a timeout.
Maryland responded well after the stoppage of play, going on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 31 with 4:20 left until intermission. But Singler took charge from there, first feeding Mason Plumlee in the post for an easy layup and then hitting four foul shots.
With the clock winding down, it was no surprise that Singler had the ball in his hands in an isolation set at the top of the key. He delivered yet again, driving past his defender and scoring a layup to give Duke a 42-33 lead heading into the break.
Both squads shot just over 51 percent in the first half, as the defense on both ends of the floor was often porous, particularly in the paint. The difference came at the charity stripe: The Blue Devils made eight of their 12 free throw attempts while the Terrapins missed all six of theirs. The disparity would continue in the final period as well—Maryland finished the game an abysmal 15-for-28 from the line.
“We’ve been shooting 70 percent from the line for the last month and a half,” Gary Williams said. “We couldn’t do that tonight. That really hurt us.”
Duke never trailed in the second half despite the Terrapins’ best efforts to close the gap. An 8-0 Maryland run cut the Blue Devils’ lead to 47-46 with 14:35 left, but Mason Plumlee stemmed the spurt with a strong drive to the basket.
The play of Mason and his brother Miles was crucial, as both big men dominated both the defensive and offensive boards throughout the contest. Miles’ eight offensive rebounds helped extend multiple possessions for Duke, and Mason posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.
For more information about Nolan Smith's injury, visit The Blue Zone, The Chronicle's Sports Blog.
Maryland went to a fullcourt press for much of the second half, but the Blue Devils handled the pressure with poise. The Terrapins managed only nine points off turnovers on the night and eventually wore down on offense due to their exertions on the defensive end.
“A big part of the game was Kyle and how he handled the ball against the press,” Krzyzewski said. “In each of the three meetings we’ve played against Maryland, Kyle’s been flawless as far as inbounding the ball.”
Duke held the Terrapins scoreless for around five minutes midway through the half, and its lead ballooned to 12 with just under five minutes left in the game. The Blue Devils pulled away from a resilient Maryland squad despite the loss of Smith to a toe injury with 6:48 remaining. Krzyzewski was worried about how his team would respond as Smith watched from the bench, but Seth Curry soon laid his fears to rest.
“I was worried about us technically…what we were going to do as far as defense and offense,” Krzyzewski said. “I thought our guys really stepped it up big time when Nolan went down. It was a sign of good spirits.”
Curry scored five straight points when he replaced Smith at the point guard spot, and he also contributed three steals, three assists and no turnovers on the night. But even though Curry showed he could carry the load when called up, it was Singler’s step-back jumper with three and a half minutes left that iced the game.
Even though Singler was 10-for-15 from the field, he thinks he can still elevate his play, especially from beyond the arc. He will no doubt need to continue the high level of production, as Smith is questionable for the remainder of the tournament.
“I didn’t really shoot the ball that great,” Singler said. “I’m not going to worry about it— I’m going to keep shooting. I guarantee that they’re going to start going in.”
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