DUKE 82-44, 2:15 2nd: Vasquez didn't appear too pleased with the Crazies' "Nuestra casa" chant. The Venezuelan guard finished his day in Cameron making just 2-of-10 shots from the field, including misses from both of his attempts from long range. He registered just one rebound and failed to record an assist, a far cry from his 13-point, 12-assist night two years ago that sparked Maryland to an upset of Duke in Cameron.
More after the game.
DUKE 80-40, 3:50 2nd: If Jason Williams and the '01 Blue Devils can come back from 10 points down in one minute, can the 2009 Terps come back from 40 points down in 4 minutes? Seems unlikely, to say the least...
With the win this afternoon, Duke will almost certainly move up to No. 1 in the polls for the first time since 2006.
DUKE 74-33, 7:15 2nd: Milbourne--who is 7-for-13 from the field--is the only Terrapin who has made more than two shots. Overall, Maryland is shooting just 29.2 percent. Duke, on the other hand, is shooting 44.3 percent, including a sizzling 52.6 percent from beyond the arc.
DUKE 71-29, 9:34 2nd: Henderson checks out of the game, and with that, all of the Blue Devils' starters are now on the bench. Given the score, we're guessing they stay there for the rest of the contest.
DUKE 70-29, 10:39 2nd: Paulus drives right at Vasquez, then floats on in. On Duke's following fastbreak, Vasquez is called for an intentional foul as Elliot Williams goes up for a dunk.
DUKE 60-20, 15:25 2nd: Everything is going right for Duke. Even after Henderson misses a free throw--he was fouled on that last fastbreak--the Blue Devils regain possession after it goes out of bounds off a Terrapin. Vasquez, meanwhile, has struggled mightily in "his house," posting just 4 points on 2-of-8 shooting and no assists.
DUKE 60-20, 15:46 2nd: We apologize for the late second half start... some technical problems here in Cameron. If possible, Duke is playing even better than it did in the first period. Maryland was forced to call a timeout just over a minute into the half, but it did nothing to cool off the Blue Devils. Duke is hitting shots from all areas of the floor, and a fast break that ended in a Henderson dunk just sent Cameron into an absolute frenzy.
DUKE 33-15, 3:08 1ST: Zoubek hits 1-of-2 free throws and then records his third block of the afternoon on the other hand, but Milbourne hits a jumper to ensure that Maryland does not have the lowest-scoring first half of any Duke opponent this season.
DUKE 32-13, 3:48 1ST: Duke, meanwhile, is heating up. Singler nails a 3-pointer before a Maryland bucket ends a nearly six-minute scoring drought. Henderson drains a long 2 to put Duke up 19.
DUKE 27-11, 5:41 1ST: Singler has hit all four of his free throws, while Maryland hasn't had any easier of a time scoring. Even when the Terps get a rare open look, they're having difficulty knocking it down.
DUKE 23-11, 8:29 1ST: Kyle Singler gets a steal and goes all the way to the rim for a layup. Duke's defense has posed some real problems for Maryland so far. The Terps have been forced to initiate their offense from well beyond the 3-point line, and despite a guard-heavy lineup, they've had a hard time handling the pressure.
DUKE 19-9, 10:42 1ST: Maryland has started to hit some shots, but they've all been strongly contested by the Blue Devils. Meanwhile, a long Lance Thomas two-pointer pushes Duke's lead back to eight. Then, an extremely long Duke possession--highlighted by a rejected alley-oop, two missed 3-pointers, and a missed 2-pointer by Thomas--ultimately results in a Paulus jumper.
DUKE 12-3, 16:35 1ST: Zoubek puts in a Scheyer miss to push Duke's lead to nine. The junior center has been playing well on both ends of the floor so far, as Maryland has been unable to match up with his size. And, as the Cameron Crazies have just reminded the Terps, Zoubek now has more points than they do.
DUKE 8-3, 18:02 1ST: Zoubek gets Duke on the board on its first possession, then plays some stingy defense on the other end that leads to a Jon Scheyer 3-pointer. Scheyer drains another bomb on the Blue Devils' following possession. It appears as if he may have broken out of his slump.
PREGAME: Cameron seems much fuller than it did Tuesday against N.C. State. The Crazies--and, judging by their pregame energy, the Blue Devils--seem to know what's on the line. With a win, Duke would get both a victory over its rivals as well as the likely No. 1 spot in next week's poll.
Notable starters: Brian Zoubek gets the start at center for Duke despite Maryland's lack of size--the Terps' tallest rotation player is 6-foot-8. Greivis Vasquez is booed soundly by the Cameron crowd. After his comments this week, that's no surprise. If the crowd can get under his skin and rattle him, Maryland could be in trouble.
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