Duke 81, Maryland 83 (final): Maryland had chances to put Duke away. But James Padgett missed a pair of free throws that could have extended the lead to eight, and Maryland turnovers continued, including Dez Wells' fifth foul as he went up in the lane against Mason Plumlee. A pair of back-to-back 3-pointers from Seth Curry hauled Duke back within two points, but then missed a jumpshot that would have tied the game. Jake Layman missed 1-of-2 free throws to keep the game within one possession with 16.7 seconds on the clock, and Layman proceeded to foul Rasheed Sulaimon hard on a 3-point attempt on the ensuing Duke possession. Sulaimon drained all three free throws to tie the game, but Maryland's Seth Allen got into the lane yet again and was fouled by Quinn Cook. Allen made both from the line to put the Terrapins ahead with less than three seconds to play, and a deep 3-point attempt from Cook barely rimmed out to hand Duke its third loss of the season.
Duke 67, Maryland 75 (3:44 second half): The absence of point guard Pe'Shon Howard continued to cause massive problems for the Terrapins, and Duke continued to feast on Maryland's sloppy ball-handling. But a pair of crucial back-to-back buckets for the home team put the momentum squarely in the Maryland corner, as Seth Allen made an easy baseline drive in transition for a lay-up, and Dez Wells streaked through a Duke passing lane on the ensuing possession for an uncontested dunk to put the Terrapins ahead 70-63. From there, the teams essentially traded free throw attempts as the referees whistled foul after foul on both teams. Dez Wells and Mason Plumlee each critically picked up their fourth fouls of the contest, and James Padgett and Tyler Thornton joined them with quartets of personal fouls apiece. Plumlee missed a crucial pair of free throws, failing to stem the Maryland tide, and Cook and Thornton each contributed a miss for the Blue Devils as well. Sensing an upset as the clock ticked down without significant erosion of the Duke lead, the raucous Comcast Center crowd has become a major factor in this game.
Duke 57, Maryland 60 (7:56 second half): Duke started taking its time more on offense, slowing the pace down, but made only mild headway against the Maryland lead. Mason Plumlee continued to struggle against Alex Len's NBA-ready defensive ability, watching a pair of hook shots in the lane come up way short as his point total for the evening sat at four. Offensive execution was hard to come by for both sides in spite of the slower pace, with a pair of Maryland turnovers 30 feet from the basket gave the Blue Devils a pair of run-0uts for easy buckets. Whistles continued to abound in a game that has lacked any semblance of half-court offense.
Duke 53, Maryland 57 (11:32 second half): The Blue Devils have turned to a small lineup and appear hapless on the offensive end. The team's ball movement has been virtually nonexistent, and with Mason Plumlee sitting on the bench, Duke utilized Hairston and Alex Murphy in the frontcourt and the pair were eaten alive by Maryland's front line.
Seth Curry knocked down a 3-pointer for Duke—his first points of the second half—to stop the bleeding. Quinn Cook penetrated the lane and found Murphy for a lay-in plus the foul, but missed the free throw to keep the Maryland advantage at five points. Duke making its living off of Terrapin turnovers, forcing a number of steals and Maryland mistakes en route to a 7-0 run to cut the deficit back to three points. Seth Allen stopped the run with a runner in the lane but Cook responded witha 3-pointer to keep the Terrapins on their heels.
Sloppy execution for Maryland as the team continues to rack up turnovers—the Terrapins now have 15 giveaways as a team.
Duke 41, Maryland 49 (15:56 second half): After a quiet first half, Rasheed Sulaimon finally knocked down his first shot of the game, a 3-pointer from the left wing to tie the game at 37-37. Hairston, playing with tape on his right thumb, converted inside after Curry found him with a dish down low. Freshman guard Seth Allen found the bottom of the net for the first time for Maryland, connecting on a 3-pointer from the top of the key to break the tie.
Sulaimon hit another jumper in the lane for the Blue Devils but Shaquille Clear converted on a 3-point play to extend Maryland's lead to four before Layman laid it in on a fast break to push the Terrapin advantage. That's an 8-0 run for Maryland.
Duke 34, Maryland 35 (HALFTIME): Seth Curry's shooting was on display in the first half, but it was the play of junior Josh Hairston that stole the show for the Blue Devils. Curry has a game-high 14 points on 7-of-9 from the floor, but Hairston sits just four points off of his career high after notching nine first half points on a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. On the defensive end, Hairston has also drawn multiple offensive fouls from the Terrapins.
The Blue Devils were held scoreless for the final 2:15 of the first half as Maryland finished on a 5-0 run. Charles Mitchell converted an easy bucket inside and Nick Faust his a huge 3-pointer from the right wing with 44 seconds remaining to send the home crowd into a frenzy.
Key halftime stats:
- Nine points for Josh Hairston—four away from his career high of 13
- Duke shot just 1-for-6 from 3-point range in the first half
- Maryland outrebounded the Blue Devils 15-7 in the opening period
- The Blue Devils recorded six steals and forced 10 Terrapin turnovers
- Maryland's bench are outscoring its starters 20-15
Duke 31, Maryland 30 (2:55 first half): Attempting to match the Terrapins' size, the Blue Devils turned to both of the Plumlee brothers out of the media timeout. A combination of Maryland's tenacity on the boards and Duke's superior shooting stroke has given the Terrapins a sizable advantage on the glass in the first half. Maryland currently holds a 14-4 advantage on the glass.
At the 5:45 mark, Seth Curry finally missed his first shot of the game, clanking the iron on a 3-point attempt from the left corner. James Padgett converted a tough bucket inside to give Maryland a 26-25 advantage, but Josh Hairston's free throws swung the lead back in Duke's favor. Hairston knocked down another jumper from the elbow to extend the Blue Devils' lead before Padgett beat Mason Plumlee with a dropstep and Layman converted an easy bucket in transition.
Curry responded with a stepback jumper to give Duke a 31-30 lead.
Duke 25, Maryland 22 (7:47 first half): Seth Curry is on fire. The senior guard has now knocked down his first six shots of the game, but Duke still clings to a slim advantage in College Park. Curry has made it happen from all spots on the floor in the early-going, but the sharp shooter has not attempted a shot from beyond the 3-point arc. He has made it happen from the wings and has been especially effective off the dribble, and his aggressive play has paid off for the Blue Devils in the early-going. Curry has a game-high 12 points but his backcourt-mate Rasheed Sulaimon is struggling, missing his first three attempts from the floor. It seems as though Duke has rarely found a game where both of its starting off-guards have found their shooting stroke together, but for now the Blue Devils will take Curry's production.
Duke 17, Maryland 18 (10:27 first half): Maryland went deep into its bench after the first media timeout, subbing out all but one of its starters. Charles Mitchell got a couple of east buckets inside and Logan Aronhalt knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing to give the Terrapins back the lead, but Seth Curry continued to dazzle on the other end of the floor for Duke, swooping into the lane to get to the rim and knocking down jumpers off the dribble.
Quinn Cook and Nick Faust have been going at it on both ends of the floor. After Faust knocked down two free throws from the line, Quinn Cook took advantage of some fluid ball movement by Duke to get to the rim and knock down an easy floater. Faust struck back a minute later with a nifty crossover and knocked down the jumper to give Maryland an 18-14 advantage before Cook responded with a 3-pointer and drew a foul in transition. Cook will shoot free throws when action resumes.
Duke 8, Maryland 7 (15:29 first half): It was just the start Maryland wanted for what may be its final home game against the Blue Devils before departing for the Big Ten. Jake Layman kicked off the scoring with a long 3-pointer and Alex Len added a thunderous dunk to give the Terrapins a quick 5-0 lead, sending the crowd at the Comcast Center into a frenzy. Maryland started a big lineup—featuring three players 6-foot-8 or taller—to counter the Blue Devils' three-guard attack. Not surprisingly, the Terrapins were dominant on the boards in the early-going.
Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee paced the scoring for the Blue Devils, getting into the lane to knock down contested shots. Plumlee then found Josh Hairston, who entered the game off the bench, with a nice dish in the post for a lay-in to give Duke an 8-7 advantage heading into the first media timeout.
Pregame: We're live from the Comcast Center in College Park, Md., where No. 2 Duke is set to tip off with Maryland at 6 p.m. The Blue Devils are fresh off an emotional win against archrival North Carolina Wednesday, while the Terrapins have not played in nearly a week since falling to Virginia 80-69 at home last Sunday. Follow along here and on Twitter @dukebasketball for live updates throughout the game.
Duke starters: G Quinn Cook, G Seth Curry, G Rasheed Sulaimon, F Amile Jefferson, F Mason Plumlee
Maryland starters: G Seth Allen, G Dez Wells, F Jake Layman, F Shaquille Cleare, C Alex Len
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