Hostile environment, and a team that is coming off their biggest win of the season against North Carolina. Duke came in off a big win themselves. You knew it was going to be a battle. Till about eight minutes left, it looked like a 15 round boxing match, in which each team traded punches waiting for the other to fall. In the end Duke threw a perfect combination of hay-makers in the form of Henderson, Scheyer, and Singler. And for the second straight year Duke walks away with a regular season sweep of Maryland.
This game was physical. And the refs couldn’t keep it under control, so it was the toughest team that was going to get the win. After Nolan Smith ran in to a truck (David Neal) he fell to the ground. On the bench he looked much like Blake Griffin on Saturday. Nolan eventually went to the locker room and then to the hospital. We all are waiting to hear the diagnosis, and hope to have Nolan back soon. But while Nolan lay on the ground, Neal hit a open jumper ( I wonder why….5 on 4). Maryland fans continued to cheer while trainers worked on Nolan. That was the usual class by Maryland fans, but Gerald Henderson took offense. In the next Duke possession, Gerald took the ball from the left wing drove the lane and with two guys on him leaped from mid free throw line and threw the ball down with one hand. After that his emotions took over. He looked at Neal, and almost felt like he gave the entire arena a big FU. The very next possession Gerald made a sweet floater, and let Nolan know, “We got this man.”
Like the other games that are left on Duke’s schedule, this one was a must win game. Much like the Wake game Duke let Maryland’s guards drive the lane and get into the paint for easy scores. However, their style of play limits what the Terps could do on the perimeter, and no other team thrives from 3 like Maryland. They only took 8 on the night, making only 3. And Duke’s offense kept them in it until they forced Maryland into mistakes and finished them off. To come away with a decisive victory against a tough opponent, in one of the toughest places to play in the country, is saying something about this team. This team is showing a great confidence at the right time, and playing smart basketball. That is how this team can do great things. Don’t make mistakes and let the game come to you. They did that the last two games and the result is two of the biggest wins all season.
What can you say about Elliot Williams. After the Wake game, it could have been a one-hit-wonder situation. Instead he had an even better encore. He finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds and a lot of his great play came at crucial times in the game. Teams are finding it hard to stop him once he gets into the lane, and good things continue to happen when he is playing like this. He never looks lose out there, and that speaks to the brilliance of Coach K. Instead of letting him play early and risk the possibility of him making mistakes that could of hurt his confidence, he has him play after practicing many months against great talent. Sure you can’t substitute game time play in practice, but Elliot has come in not being scared to be a play maker. His defense was once again very solid, even if he did pick up 4 fouls.
So many great things in this game, but the best is it provides Duke another boost of confidence going forward. Going to Virginia Tech will be another tough contest, as they are coming off a huge win at Clemson. Just three games left in the regular season and every single one of them are against great competition. One game at a time, and let the rest play itself out. Duke is playing some great basketball, and looks like they are having a ball doing it.
