Two years ago, then-senior Brian Zoubek emerged as one of the nation’s best offensive rebounders, carrying his team to a victory over Maryland with a 16-point, 17-rebound game. On Saturday, senior Miles Plumlee spurred this year’s Blue Devils to victory against the Terrapins with a breakout performance of his own.
“[Zoubek] was really a role model for me when he was playing here,” Plumlee said. “It’s no coincidence. I knew this was the game two years ago that he turned it on. I just took a good look at myself and said I need to come out and do the same thing he did.”
Behind Plumlee’s 13-point, 22-rebound performance, which his younger brother Mason called “a man’s 20 and 10,” No. 10 Duke (21-4, 8-2 in the ACC) took control in the second half to earn a 73-55 win against Maryland (14-10, 4-6). Mason finished with a double-double of his own, but Miles’ display was the story of the game. His 22 rebounds were the most of any player in head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 37-year career.
“He was the hungriest player on the floor,” Mason said of his brother. “It showed in his rebounding and the way he finished…. I couldn’t be more happy for him.”
Junior guard Seth Curry paced Duke in scoring with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Like the rest of the Blue Devils, Curry did not shoot for a high percentage, but Krzyzewski still praised the co-captain’s game.
“I thought Seth really came through for us in tough situations,” Krzyzewski said. “When they got it down to four, we called a timeout and called a set…. He hit the two free throws that put us up by six and got a bit of a rhythm going.”
But it was the team’s rebounding and physicality, though, that won the day. Duke managed a plus-15 rebounding margin behind the Plumlee brothers, who combined to more than double the Terrapins’ offensive rebounds. The team’s 48 boards were a season high.
“The Plumlee brothers were dominant,” Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon said. “They kicked our tails on the glass.”
Those offensive rebounds allowed the Blue Devils to keep possessions alive, burning the clock to prevent a Maryland comeback. Duke ultimately took 14 more shots than the Terrapins, which was crucial on an afternoon when the Blue Devils shot less than 40 percent from the field.
The rebounding advantage was indicative of Duke’s hustle and intensity, particularly in the second half. The team got off to a sluggish start, struggling to shake off the emotions of their thriller in Chapel Hill earlier in the week. After clawing back to take a halftime lead, the Blue Devils were determined not to let their opponents back in front.
“We were ahead [in College Park], and they came back and took the lead in the second half,” Mason said. “[At halftime] we said, ‘We can’t let them back in this. We have to be able to put teams away.’ And that’s something we wouldn’t have done earlier in the season.”
There are deep connection between Miles’ game last night and Zoubek’s of two years ago. Both players impressed against the Terrapins on a weekend afternoon following a Wednesday night victory in Chapel Hill. Both players were seniors whose potential had tantalized Blue Devil fans for years. Both performed well at times but were plagued by inconsistency. Krzyzewski even showed the team film of Zoubek’s game against Maryland to hammer home the parallel.
“From that day on, Zoubek was great,” Krzyzewski said. “I’m not going to put that [expectation] on Miles, but he was great today.”
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