COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Despite trailing by as many as 20 points in the first half Sunday against Maryland, Duke found itself in a position to get back into the game with 9:54 remaining in the second.
After Marty Pocius hit a short jumper, Dave McClure forced a turnover and began the fast break for the Blue Devils. Following McClure's steal, Pocius stood near the top of the key and set his feet for a three-pointer, but instead fed the ball into the paint to a wide-open Josh McRoberts. The forward slammed home an easy two points, cutting the deficit to 56-50 and forcing the capacity crowd at the Comcast Center back into its seats.
But the scene was all too familiar for the Blue Devils. In its current four-game losing streak, Duke has been able to string together runs but has failed to capitalize on its momentum and close out its opponents.
From the opening tip, Duke let the Terrapins set a high-energy pace and dictate the style and speed of play. As a result, the Blue Devils committed 12 turnovers in the first half, which led to 17 Terrapin points-almost half of their output in the period.
The halftime margin was only 12 points, but the Terrapins had outplayed Duke in every "hustle" category. Along with points off turnovers, Maryland out-ran the Blue Devils, registering six fast break points to Duke's zero. The Terrapins also dominated inside the paint, outscoring the Blue Devils 26-6.
When the game got closer, though, Duke still seemed far from taking control away from the Terps.
"We gave up a lot of second-chance shots, transition buckets, and lay-ups," junior DeMarcus Nelson said. "They were quicker to the ball, and they wanted it more than us."
Nelson hurt the Blue Devils for the second straight outing when he left the game after picking up his third foul with 13:09 remaining in the first half. During that stretch, the Terrapins were in the midst of a 29-4 run, and Nelson could have helped Duke slow down Maryland's athletes.
After failing to get involved in the offense Feb. 7 against North Carolina, Nelson played only 20 minutes Sunday-the least amount of time he has clocked in a game all season.
Even with Nelson on the bench, the Terrapins' full-court zone press did not force the Blue Devils immediately into turning the ball over-but it did affect the way Duke ran its offense in the half-court.
"It sped us up," Krzyzewski said. "When we did break it without turning it over, we then turned it over because the pace of our offense never adjusted to the fact that we had already beaten the press."
Despite allowing only two three-pointers, Duke was consistently beaten in transition by Greivis Vasquez and D.J. Strawberry.
With Maryland dictating the pace of the game, seizing opportunities when they could get them would prove to be crucial for the Blue Devils-and their failure yet again to do so resulted in another loss.
"Of the four games we've lost, three we had a chance to win," Krzyzewski said. "When you lose you don't look at it as you played well-you lost. That's the way it's recorded and that's the way it is."
If the Blue Devils do not improve-if they continue to drop close games-their chances at receiving an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament could be in jeopardy.
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