Maryland at (7) Duke - Battle for ACC's Top Spot

• reclegend22

  

  Gary Williams has his Terrapins back at the top of the ACC, a place they really haven't sniffed since Maryland's great run in the early to mid 2000s. With a win in Cameron today, Maryland can take sole possession of first place in the conference. Currently, Duke (20-4, 8-2) and Maryland (16-6, 6-2) stand atop the conference.
  
  Last year, Duke handed Maryland a 40-point drubbing in Cameron Indoor, so you can imagine that senior sensation Greivis Vasquez is out for a bit of revenge. After all, he once called Cameron "his house." If there has been any player over the last decade who has embraced Cameron as much as Reggie Miller once did Madison Square Garden, it is Vasquez. He recorded 13 points and 12 assists in his first ever game there, a Terrapin victory in 2007. The following year, Vasquez went for 25 points and seven assists, in a close fought Duke win. Last year, he was humbled accordingly. With the way Maryland is playing this season, however, especially Greivis, who recently put 26 and 6-of-11 three-point shooting on North Carolina in a thrashing of the Tar Heels in College Park, I expect nothing like a year ago.
  
  This is Mike Krzyzewski's 1000th game at Duke, and the legendary coach's 63rd birthday. It is going to be a crazy, emotionally-driven atmosphere in Indoor.
  
  Game is at 1 on CBS.
• reclegend22

  

  Also, great news for Blue Devils fans. WRAL out of the Triangle reported last night that Lance Thomas is suspected to be in the lineup, or at least play significant minutes, in today's game against the Terrapins. It was thought at first to be a career-ending injury for the senior Duke forward, but was later discovered to be a severe bone bruise to his right knee.
  
  WRAL reports that Nolan Smith said before the Blue Devils' practice that Lance was playing and looking "100%," expecting his teammate to be ready to go. No official word has come from the Duke coaching staff as of yet.
  
  http://www.wralsportsfan.com/duke/story/7025268/
• hoops23

  

  Maryland wins 100-45
  
  Coach K goes straight to New Jersey.
• reclegend22

  

  Lol at LTrain.
  
  And Rick Pitino takes over Duke.
• 2shoes

  LTrain23 wrote: Maryland wins 100-45
  
  Coach K goes straight to New Jersey.

  Then immediately acquires LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh in free agency. The Nets then embark on a string of 12 straight NBA titles!
• reclegend22

  

  Duke putting it to Maryland in the battle of the ACC's top two teams, up 40-24 at the half. Duke shooting 5-of-9 from three at the break, but really taking the ball inside and finishing well with guys like Singler, Ma Plumlee and even Brian Zoubek.
  
  The difference has been Duke's pressure half court D. It is absolutely smothering the Terrapins. UMD shooting 0-for-7 from triple and potential ACC POTY Greivis Vasquez has two points at the break. He just can't break Nolan Smith and the trio of Duke big men waiting for him every time he tries to overtake the key.
  
  Keep it up, boys.
• reclegend22

  

  As I always say, gotta love a quiet Duke thread on the Huddle It only means one thing. Duke's playing superb and UNC is nowhere to be found.
• 2shoes

  Final?
• Ironman92

  

  Man Duke killed them.
• Ironman92

  

  77-56
• reclegend22

  

  Duke clinches sole possession of the ACC race for the top seed in the conference tournament with the 21-point win over Maryland today. This is huge as we head into the final five games of ACC play. This is Duke's to win or lose.
  
  Jon Scheyer's 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field (3-of-4 threes) has catapulted the Duke senior into the front runner for ACC player of the year. Entering the contest, I think Maryland's Greivis Vasquez was on par with Scheyer in this race, but after holding Vasquez to just two points in the first half, Duke's defense -- especially that of one Nolan Smith -- definitely swayed things in Scheyer's direction.
  
  I'm very proud of the way this Duke team battled today, especially Brian Zoubek. He takes a lot of heat from Duke fans, including from me (a lot from me), but he put forth an effort today that was both extraordinary and promising. He's playing well right now. Sixteen points and 17 rebounds today for the Duke big man.
  
  Impressive.
• slingshot4ever

  The ACC is extremely weak this year.
• reclegend22

  

  The ACC is right behind the Big East and the Big Ten this season in terms of conference strength. Just because Carolina is god awful doesn't mean the conference is. Sure it's not as dominant as years past, but there are a lot of very good teams.
  
  The ACC has a chance to get seven teams out of 12 in the Dance, maybe eight (not likely, but a possibility depending on how Clemson finishes the year). It's deep and there are some very talented teams that could give some of the bluebloods of this year a run for their money in March.
  
  As always, the conference's deep lineup makes it one of the top two or three in all of the land. The Big East may get in seven teams, but they have 16 different schools to make that happen. Year in, year out, the ACC consistently gets more teams in proportion to its conference's size than any other. That's efficiency. That's solid.
• reclegend22

  

  slingshot, you make me laugh at how hard you try to knock us. That's because the ACC is THE class of college basketball most years, and you just don't like it. Your envy is our respect personified Thanks.
• slingshot4ever

  ^^^^^
  
  I was only referring to this year, lets stay in the present. Top to bottom the ACC doesnt match up well with the Big East, Big Ten or Big Twelve.
  
  MSU
  Purdue
  Illinois
  OSU
  
  
  Those are much greater than
  
  Duke
  Ga Tech
  Wake Forest
  Maryland
  
  We will see what conferences put more teams in the tournamenet this year. I guarantee all of three of those conferences put in more than the ACC.
• reclegend22

  

  MSU, Purdue, Illinois and OSU are all guaranteed better than Duke. Yeah, all right. Lol.
  
  Duke already pounded basically that same Purdue squad in West Lafayette a year ago, and is on another level than Illinois. Please. MSU also isn't playing well right now, and weren't even when Lucas was still in the lineup. They are not a top 10 team. This Duke team clearly is.
  
  As for OSU, the Buckeyes are a good team, with a chance to make real noise in the Tournament behind the play of Turner and Buford. But Duke has too many horses. Behind the Blue Devils' big three -- Singler, Scheyer and Smith -- and ability to take OSU's perimeter game completely out of it with their team's stout half court pressure D, I'd take Duke in a March meeting.
• Prescott

  MSU, Purdue, Illinois and OSU are all guaranteed better than Duke. Yeah, all right. Lol.

  He isn't making that claim. Can you read?
• reclegend22

  

  Ahondis, can you?
  
  Yes, he was most certainly insinuating that those teams were all better than the ACC's upper echelon teams. There is no doubt about it. Have you read anything he's written about Duke or the ACC on here recently?
  
  Thanks for taking interest in yet another Duke thread, however. Aren't there some boring Buckeye threads that need some life pumped into them?
• Prescott

  Yes, he was most certainly insinuating that those teams were all better than the ACC's upper echelon teams. There is no doubt about it.

  He is saying that COLECTIVLEY the top 4 teams in the Big 10 are better the the top 4 teams in the ACC. He may have a point, since the only ACC team he listed that won their Big 10/ACC challenge game is Maryland and the Terps didn't exactly beat a powerhouse in Indiana, a team that has lost 6 straight Big 10 games.
  
  
  I am not saying that I agree with him or disagree with him. I am just clarifying his premise for you.
  
  You are welcome.
• slingshot4ever

  ^^^^^
  
  At least you understood my post.
  
  Reclegend - did you not notice that I said this season and stop bring up the past????????????? Yet you still refer to a game against Purdue from LAST SEASON.
• reclegend22

  

  Since we have no way of determining where Duke and Purdue stand against each other alone this season, as they have not taken the court against one another, I feel last year's game does bear some relevance.
  
  I guess this is a matter of opinion. As I see it, however, Duke is not only the best team in the ACC but would also win the Big Ten if it were a part of that conference. Most people would probably agree with me as well, especially with the recent struggles of Michigan State. The loss the Blue Devils suffered at Wisconsin means virtually nothing. The Badgers are a very good team, Bo Ryan is an excellent coach, the best pound for pound in the Midwest in my opinion, and the Kohl Center is as tough a road game as anywhere in the country. Probably the toughest. Most teams this season, including the Kansases and the Kentuckys, would probably drop games there.
  
  That's not really the point of our discussion, though.
• slingshot4ever

  My point of discussion was that the Big Ten was better than the ACC as a whole, not that the Big Ten was better than Duke alone. This is why I listed the op 4 Big Ten and ACC teams. It is clear that overall as a conference the Big Ten has to play more high quality opponents. Maryland is a top 4 team in the ACC and lost to Duke by over 20. That shows how weak the ACC is.
  
  Duke lost to Wisconsin who sits at 5th in the Big Ten right now.
• reclegend22

  

  slingshot4ever wrote:Maryland is a top 4 team in the ACC and lost to Duke by over 20. That shows how weak the ACC is.

  Villanova is a top four team in the country and lost in a trouncing to Georgetown. That shows how weak and mediocre the Big East is.
  
  That rationale proves nothing.
  
  Michigan State currently stands in the top one or two in the Big Ten and lost at North Carolina, which won't even make the NIT most likely, unless the Heels really finish strong. The Heels currently sit at 11th in the ACC.
• Prescott

  At least you understood my post.

  Sometimes you have to S-P-E-L-L things out for rec. He is blinded by his bias for the dukies and the ACC.
• slingshot4ever

  reclegend22 wrote:

  slingshot4ever wrote:Maryland is a top 4 team in the ACC and lost to Duke by over 20. That shows how weak the ACC is.

  Villanova is a top four team in the country and lost in a trouncing to Georgetown. That shows how weak and mediocre the Big East is.
  
  That rationale proves nothing.
  
  Michigan State currently stands in the top one or two in the Big Ten and lost at North Carolina, which won't even make the NIT most likely, unless the Heels really finish strong. The Heels currently sit at 11th in the ACC.

  Georgetown is a top 10 team, Maryland isn't even a top 30 team in the nation. Comparing Maryland to Georgetown is laughable considering the fact that Georgetown laid the wood to Duke, nice try though.
  
  So if Georgetown is weak, Duke is that much weaker.
  
  UNC was playing like a top 10-15 team at the beginning of the year when they played MSU. It is clear to anyone that basketball knowledge that they have fallen off over the past couple of months.