In J.J. Redick's time at Duke, the Blue Devils have compiled a 53-14 mark against ACC opponents.
Over the past three and a half seasons Duke is 4-3 against Wake Forest, 6-2 against North Carolina and 6-2 against N.C. State. There is only one conference opponent the Blue Devils have not beaten in a majority of the games the two teams have played during that span-Maryland.
No. 2 Duke (22-1, 10-0 in the ACC) and Redick have a chance to fix that Saturday. The Blue Devils travel north to play Maryland, the only team they have not dominated for the past three and a half years, at 1 p.m. Redick's Duke teams are 4-4 against the Terrapins (15-7, 5-4), including a loss in the finals of the 2004 ACC Tournament.
"The Duke-Maryland rivalry is very intense, there are not a lot of friendly feelings between the two schools," Redick said. "Certainly we have respect for their coaches and players and I am friends with a couple of guys on their team, but overall there seems to be an intense dislike between the two schools."
At the Comcast Center, Redick's Blue Devils are 1-2, with the lone victory coming in 2004. But that 68-60 win became more notable for what happened in the stands than on the court.
As Redick-who nailed 5-of-6 three-pointers and finished with 26 points-stepped to the free throw line with a chance to ice the game, the Terrapin student section chanted "F- you, J.J" loudly enough to be heard on television.
The incident prompted a national media firestorm. In response, Maryland implemented policies to improve its fan behavior, forming a Student Sportsmanship Committee and enlisting head coach Gary Williams to be the face of the effort.
Last year's game at Maryland went off without incident, though it was surely not pleasant for the Blue Devils. Four Duke players fouled out and the Terrapin fans spilled onto the court after their team's 99-92 overtime win.
Redick was taunted during the game-several signs and chants made reference to Redick's then-12-year-old sister Abby. But throughout his reign as one of college basketball's most hated players, Redick has said the jeers have never bothered him. He has averaged 20 points per game in Duke's three trips to College Park, but he shot just 5-for-19 in last year's game and finished with 21 points.
"It is not difficult to block out the crowd and sometimes play along with the crowd, especially during warm-ups," Redick said. "Once the game starts it is easy for me to just focus on what is going on in the game."
In light of Redick's success in hostile road venues this season-he scored 29 points at Indiana Nov. 30 and 35 at North Carolina Feb. 7-Maryland forward Nik Caner-Medley made an unusual request of the home crowd.
"I think it would probably be funny if somebody went into an arena, like J.J., and he didn't hear anything," Caner-Medley told The Diamondback, Maryland's student newspaper. "It would probably throw him off, because you're used to hearing stuff."
Redick is unlikely to get the silent treatment. Rather the Comcast Center environment is expected to be loud as ever.
Though the atmosphere will be tough, the Terrapins have struggled recently. Maryland lost at Duke 76-52 Jan. 11-the Blue Devils were led by Shelden Williams' triple-double and forced 29 Terrapin turnovers.
Since senior captain and leading scorer Chris McCray was declared academically ineligible Jan. 24, Maryland has gone 2-3, with the only two wins coming over Georgia Tech and Virginia.
And even in its home win over the Cavaliers Feb. 7, Maryland trailed by nine with 10 minutes to play before pulling out the comeback win. The victory stopped a three-game losing streak for the Terrapins and gave head coach Gary Williams the Maryland record for most career wins at the school.
"It was definitely a huge win for us. It was a team win," Caner-Medley said afterward. "We're happy to get this win for Coach, and now we have to get ready for Duke."
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