Turtledroppings.com – Maryland Football And Basketball Blog

The hype is building.  Former Duke player, current ESPN analyst Jay Bilas has written about the game.  It has been on my mind all day.  CBS has a preview on it’s website.  The Terps are finally starting to get some national attention, and most likely that is only because they are playing Duke.

Starting forward Lance Thomas is out for the game.  Actually he is doubtful.  He bruised his knee against UNC.  That should mean more playing time for the likes of Mason and Miles Plumlee along with 7 footer Brian Zubek.

Speaking of the Duke forwards, it should be noted they racked up a whopping 23 offensive rebounds against UNC.  Of course some of that has to do with the fact that they shot on 31% (22-69) from the field.  Still allowing the offensive rebound has been a problem for the Terps all season long, and if they want to walk out with a win in Cameron, they are going to have to battle for the rebounds.

Ok, now onto some stuff that is going to get over played up to and during the game.  It will be Mike Krzyzewski 1,000th game coaching the Dukies, and it is his 63rd birthday to boot.  The saving grace is this game is being broadcast on CBS and we will be spared the Dukie Vitale and/or Mike Patrick love fest.  NOTHING (sorry Megan) will make me happier than walking out of Cameron Indoor with a win on this day.  There are going to be all kinds of former players on hand for the occasion in what is being billed as a celebration weekend.

Enough background, what are the keys to the game?  For the Terps it will be handling the pressure.  Playing in Cameron is always tough, and Duke’s defense is always in your face.  The Teprs have to be calm under pressure, and not fall into the same type of game they played in Clemson.  Eric Hayes in particular has not had a great record in his career at Cameron (see Patrick Stevens blog post from yesterday).  The Terps have to be disciplined, and help out Greivis with getting into the offense.   Another key, as mention earlier, will be rebounding.  In ACC games Duke is leading the conference in rebounding margin, while the Terps are 7th and are actually in the negative, and Duke is averaging 14 offensive rebounds in ACC games (1st in the conference).

For Duke the key will be trying to slow the Terps down in transition, and getting Kyle Singler going.  It is no secret the Terps are at their best when they can force the tempo.  All of the Terps run the floor well, and at times there are as many as 3 or 4 ball handlers that can get the ball up court quickly.  As for Singler, he was the preseason player of the year, but has struggled a bit this season as he has moved out to play the 3.  I am not sure how Duke is going to match up with the Terps defensively.  Singler could be forced to guard either Mosley, Hayes, or Vasquez if Duke goes big, but most likely he will be on Milbourne.  Singler has been a key to Duke’s success.  On nights when he is on, they are as tough as anyone to beat.  If he is off, they are not as dangerous.  Duke is still an outside team, as there top players (Scheyer and Nolan Smith) are on the perimeter, especially with Singler moving to the 3.

There you have a quick preview at the game.  I am sure we will have more to say about this one as we get closer to tip off, so be sure to check back and see what we have to say.  After all, Maryland and Duke are meeting for first place in the ACC, what could be better?  This is the Maryland Basketball we all know and love!

This entry was posted on Friday, February 12th, 2010 at 3:28 pm and is filed under Maryland Terps Basketball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.