MBB: Duke vs. Maryland (Feb 15, 6 pm, ESPN) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[JBDuke]

Maryland pays their last visit to Duke as an ACC opponent on Saturday. Game time is 6 pm, and ESPN will broadcast it.

[Troublemaker]

I'm wary of this opponent for obvious reasons. They beat us twice last season. Dez Wells went for 30 against Duke in the ACC tournament. He's back and so is Seth Allen, who also gave us some trouble last season. Wells and Allen are quick guards that like to penetrate. Maryland has good shooters in Layman and Smoctryz playing the 3 and 4 to spread the floor for the penetrators, and Maryland has widebodies at center in Charles Mitchell and Shaquille Cleare to clean up misses. Mitchell has the 5th-best offensive rebounding rate in the country. On paper, this is a team that fits together pretty well and should have better records than the 14-11 overall / 6-6 ACC they've put up so far. I mean, I don't expect the Terps to beat Duke on Saturday, especially since Duke will remember the two losses from last season, but they have enough talent to keep it competitive for awhile.

[dukelifer]

I'm wary of this opponent for obvious reasons. They beat us twice last season. Dez Wells went for 30 against Duke in the ACC tournament. He's back and so is Seth Allen, who also gave us some trouble last season. Wells and Allen are quick guards that like to penetrate. Maryland has good shooters in Layman and Smoctryz playing the 3 and 4 to spread the floor for the penetrators, and Maryland has widebodies at center in Charles Mitchell and Shaquille Cleare to clean up misses. Mitchell has the 5th-best offensive rebounding rate in the country. On paper, this is a team that fits together pretty well and should have better records than the 14-11 overall / 6-6 ACC they've put up so far. I mean, I don't expect the Terps to beat Duke on Saturday, especially since Duke will remember the two losses from last season, but they have enough talent to keep it competitive for awhile.

I think the loss of Len is big for them last year. That said, Maryland is always up for Duke. Should be close for a while and hopefully Duke will get late half separation and win without issue. This year's Duke team matches up better than last year with Wells and Co.

[ajaxthewonderdog]

Maybe "We will miss you." And we will, because it is so enjoyable beating them, as they inevitably claim a rivalry. But we won't miss the batteries and full plastic water bottles tossed at players and their parents up at Maryland. But that's admittedly a little hard to put into a chant. Go Duke.

[BD80]

Maybe "We will miss you." And we will, ...

Miss who?

[NYBri]

Bye bye Terps. Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.

[Bob Green]

Duke opened as a 13 points favorite in Vegas.

[roywhite]

Should Duke have the game in hand, seems like there are a number of late game options for the Crazies:

A-C-C

A giant See-YA

For old time's sake, perhaps a chorus of "Amen"

[Edouble]

Bye bye Terps. Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.

Or the shell.

As far as "Amen" goes, I can't see the Crazies all singing a song that is so unfamiliar. I'm class of '99 and I don't remember the tune.

"Hit the Road, Jack" would be great and I really have no problem with another round of "ACC".

It probably served the team best though, if this matchup is treated like just another game. With the UNC game often an emotional one, and the revenge game against Syracuse at the end of this intense four game stretch, starting off with an emotionally charged game probably isn't good for the team. It will be physically challenging, so neutralizing the mental aspect as much as possible would be good.

[Here is a Turtle]

I will just say this in the pregame and leave it be. I'm going to miss these Maryland/Duke games. It's been an entertaining series, and I think this last game will be competitive. Hopefully both teams stay healthy and we end up with a classic.

[devildeac]

Or the shell.

As far as "Amen" goes, I can't see the Crazies all singing a song that is so unfamiliar. I'm class of '99 and I don't remember the tune.

"Hit the Road, Jack" would be great and I really have no problem with another round of "ACC".

It probably served the team best though, if this matchup is treated like just another game. With the UNC game often an emotional one, and the revenge game against Syracuse at the end of this intense four game stretch, starting off with an emotionally charged game probably isn't good for the team. It will be physically challenging, so neutralizing the mental aspect as much as possible would be good.

Amen-a couple links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amen_(T...ressions_song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3-iBfP-Pfo

[davekay1971]

We do pretty well against Big 1? Teams in Cameron, so I suspect we'll keep our home non-conference win streak intact against Maryland today. We match up nicely with them, both teams being a little smaller, more perimeter oriented, but Duke with better talent at every position. We need to keep in front of their guards and defend the 3 point line against their wings. If we do that, we should be okay in this little break from ACC play.

[ChrisP]

Anyone know why the game is not on yet? I'm just on my laptop here and, as USUAL, our game is nowhere to be found on ESPN's list of either "live" or "upcoming" games on the watchESPN site. I assume we're delayed because of a foul-fest somewhere else in the nation. Can anyone help???

[ChrisP]

Nevermind, I can see a score now, but...still nowhere to a live link of the damn game!!!

[Wildling]

Love the white uniforms. Old school!

[ChrisP]

Love the white uniforms. Old school!

Ditto - LOVING the new unis!!!

[davekay1971]

It's almost enough to make you feel sorry for the Maryland fans. I just saw on ESPN.com the UM folks are using the hashtag #rivalryweek for this game. They're convinced that this is a rivalry game.

It reminds me of John Cusack's line in Grosse Pointe Blank where Martin Blank is dealing with Bobby Beamer's idiotic drunken antagonism. Martin, a professional hit man, could kill him in a second, but it's just not on his to-do list, so instead he tells Bobby: "Do you really think there's some kind of built up thing between us? There is no us."

Dear Maryland fans: There is no us. Get over yourselves and find someone else to pester.

[blue post]

Nevermind, I can see a score now, but...still nowhere to a live link of the damn game!!!

Same with me. It's like they decided not to show it on Watch ESPN just before tip off. It's not available on the WatchESPN website, or the app on my iPad. But, if you go to the espn.com home page, the leading story references the Duke-Maryland game and if you click the image, it will play the live feed in that little central tile on the home page. Small, but at least it works.

[lotusland]

Same with me. It's like they decided not to show it on Watch ESPN just before tip off. It's not available on the WatchESPN website, or the app on my iPad. But, if you go to the espn.com home page, the leading story references the Duke-Maryland game and if you click the image, it will play the live feed in that little central tile on the home page. Small, but at least it works.

Thanks for the tip. I have it full screen on espn.com now. Same screen says live on watch ESPN bit of course it isn't

[lotusland]

Anyone know why the game is not on yet? I'm just on my laptop here and, as USUAL, our game is nowhere to be found on ESPN's list of either "live" or "upcoming" games on the watchESPN site. I assume we're delayed because of a foul-fest somewhere else in the nation. Can anyone help???

Yeah really weird. One minute is was listed as upcoming then it went totally away.