This afternoon's matchup between Duke basketball and Maryland comes one day shy of the 12th anniversary of one of the most improbable and memorable comebacks in Blue Devil history. Trailing on the road against then-No. 8 Maryland by 10-points with less than a minute to play on Jan. 27, 2001, Duke's Jason Williams led the Blue Devils on an epic comeback that would go down in history as the "Miracle Minute." Duke took the game 98-96 in overtime and that game has been a part of Blue Devil lore ever since:
The Blue Devils trailed Maryland 90-80 as the clock ticked below one minute at Cole Field House. Williams took the ball to the hole and finished at the bucket with 53.5 seconds remaining, cutting the Duke deficit to 90-82. Shane Battier pressured the inbound pass and when the pass was finally made, he and Williams trapped the recipient in his own corner. Williams stole the ball, took one dribble to his right and drained a 3-pointer with 48.7 seconds remaining. The shot came right after ESPN's Mike Patrick described the scene as "Duke can no longer stop the clock. They need a miracle."
During Maryland's ensuing timeout, Patrick reminded himself why Williams was even in the game at that point. Despite the contest's historic ending, Williams struggled throughout. In a feature with the ACC Digital Network published earlier this week reliving the game, head coach Mike Krzyzewski said, "Up to that point in the Maryland game, he had one of the most horrendous games that a kid of his ability could ever have."
Coming out of the timeout, Duke fouled before the next inbound pass, but the Terrapins' Drew Nicholas, an 80 percent free-throw shooter on the season, missed back-to-back shots at the line. Chris Duhon corralled the rebound and pushed the ball to Williams, who went around a screen from Battier and drained another 3-pointer from the top of the key. With 40.4 seconds left, the Blue Devils' deficit was just 90-88.
Duke triple-teamed Maryland star Juan Dixon on the next inbound play and somehow came up with the loose ball. Williams tried to drive to the bucket but slipped and fell, kicking the ball back out to Battier. He swung the ball to Duhon who found sharpshooter Mike Dunleavy, Jr. with a good look from long distance. Dunleavy missed the 3-pointer but Nate James was fouled going for the offensive rebound with 21.9 seconds to play. James made both free throws to tie the contest. Maryland had the chance to take the final shot of regulation, but superb defense by Williams forced a tough last-second look from the corner by Nicholas that rimmed out and sent the game to overtime.
Williams finished with a team-high 25 points on the evening. Battier dominated the extra frame to give Duke a dramatic road victory. This matchup was the first of four meetings between the Blue Devils and Gary Williams' Terrapins in the 2000-01 season. Maryland took revenge against Duke with a 90-81 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium Feb. 27, 2001. The two teams met a third time in the semifinal of the ACC tournament and Duke slipped by with an 84-82 victory.
Finally the Blue Devils and Terrapins squared off that March in the Final Four. Duke made yet another improbable comeback, trailing by as many as 22 points in the first half, to knock off Maryland 95-84 and advance to the national championship game, where the Blue Devils captured their third title in program history.
Although when it comes to the Terrapins, Duke's mantra has commonly been to jokingly call them "not our rivals," this matchup was arguably the premiere rivalry in the ACC during the early 2000's. As the Blue Devils get set to square off with Maryland for one of the final times before the Terrapins depart for the Big Ten after next season, fans of both teams can remember one of the most exciting chapters in the matchup's history that took place 12 years ago tomorrow.
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