Jan. 23, 2009

Maryland-Duke Game Notes (PDF)

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - * Maryland travels to Duke for a Saturday matinee with the second-ranked Blue Devils. The Terrapins come into the game off an 84-78 victory over Virginia on Tuesday night that evened their Atlantic Coast Conference record at 2-2. The Terps come into the game tied for 6th in the ACC standings. Duke is the lone remaining unbeaten team in league games, now standing at 4-0. Today's matchup is the 164th meeting between the teams in men's basketball.

* The Terrapins are 9-3 in their last 12 games, with those three losses coming by a combined six points. Maryland's previous two road games came on a road swing to Miami and Florida State. The Terps were close in both games in Florida, losing road games to opponents who were each receiving votes in both polls and who were each picked recently to make the NCAA Tournament field.

* Sophomore guard Adrian Bowie leads the Terrapins in scoring in the four conference games, scoring 16.3 points per game. He is hitting .575 from the field (23-40) and .800 at the free-throw line (16-20). Bowie scored a career-high 23 points at Miami and has scored in double figures in 5 of the last 6 games and each of the last 4.

* Junior forward Landon Milbourne is second on the team in rebounding (5.5 this season) and has led the Terps on the boards in each of the last 4 games (7.5 rpg). He is 9th in the league in rebounding in ACC games and leads the Terps with a .517 FG percentage.

Noting the Blue Devils
Now 17-1 and 2nd in the nation in both the ESPN/USA Today polls, Duke comes into Saturday's game with a 9-game winning streak... The Blue Devils' lone loss of the season came 12/6 at Michigan (73-81)... Duke owns ACC victories at home over Virginia Tech and NC State and on the road at Florrida State and Georgia Tech... Sophomore forward Kyle Singler leads the Blue Devils in scoring at 16.8 ppg... He has a team-high 29 3-pointers this year... He also leads the team in rebounds (8.2 rpg), assists (54) and steals (33)...

• Junior Gerald Henderson is scoring an even 20.0 ppg in the Blue Devils 4 ACC games to date (.574 FG%)... Overall, Henderson is second on the team in scoring at 14.4 ppg...

• Four Blue Devils are averaging double figures in scoring, with junior guard Jon Scheyer at 13.2 ppg and sophomore guard Nolan Smith at 10.3 ppg... The Blue Devils have a 19.7 ppg scoring margin over their opponents (2nd in the ACC to North Carolina's 22.9) and own the league's best scoring defense at 60.3 ppg.

Looking Ahead
Following the visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium, Maryland returns home for a pair of games against league opponents... The Terrapins have their lone regular-season meeting with Boston College on Tuesday, 1/27 (7:30 p.m.) before facing a rematch with Miami on Saturday, 1/31 (8 p.m.)... The Terps are 11-1 in home games so far this season...

Maryland will entertain Duke on Wednesday, 2/25 at Comcast Center in a 9 p.m. tipoff... The Terps are in the midst of a stretch of games that have them playing Atlantic Coast Conference opponents in each of the final 16 games of the regular season.

Tough Schedule
Between playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (currently ranked 1st as a league in the Sagarin Computer Ratings) and facing three ranked teams in the 2008 Old Spice Classic, the Maryland men's basketball schedule is formidable:

• Six Terrapin opponents for 2008-09 are currently ranked in the Top 12 in the Associated Press poll (#1 Wake Forest, #2 Duke, #5 North Carolina, #7 Michigan State, #10 Clemson, #12 Georgetown).

• Seven Terrapin opponents for 2008-09 are currently ranked among the Top 25 teams in the coaches poll (previous schools along with #23 Gonzaga).

• 10 Terrapin opponents for 2008-09 are either ranked or are receiving votes in the Associated Press poll, including Miami and Florida State.

• Maryland is the lone ACC team that will face conference home-and-home series with #1 North Carolina and #6 Duke... The Terps will also play twice in the regular season against Miami.

Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams - January 23 Quotes

On the difficulty of playing in Cameron Indoor Stadium:
"I still think the major reason they're a tough place to play is because they're always a good basketball team. The homecourt isn't tough unless the team you're going to play is a good team."

On how his team is approaching Saturday's game at Duke:
"I think the big thing is to try to play your game and to not try to make a lot of changes. Any time you start making changes for one game - if you have to make a change for your team, that's one thing. When you start making changes and you go against the way you've tried to teach your defense and teach your offense all year, it not only hurts you in that game probably because the players might lose a little confidence in what you're doing, but in the long range. It's a big game because they're second in the country, but it's one game. You don't go changes a lot of thing that might affect you in upcoming games."

On the excitement of playing in Cameron Indoor Stadium:
"I think it's a great place to play. I've said it before, I'd much rather play in a tough, road arena, which it is, than [play road games in] a half-empty gym. I think if you're a competitor you enjoy the atmosphere. It's a good basketball atmosphere."

On where his team currently stands entering the fifth game of conference play:
"We're working really hard. That's all you can expect from your team. I've said this before also - this team has worked as hard as any team I've coached up to this point. If we continue to do that, then we can be very competitive. That's what we're trying to be. We've been in a lot of close games this year, and if we can continue to do that, we'll win our share. That's our goal."

On the Duke Blue Devils:
"They have a lot of people that can handle the ball. If you don't count (Kyle) Singler as an inside player, they just play one inside player and four perimeter guys. Singler, at 6-foot-8, can obviously do some things on the inside. They have a player in (Gerald) Henderson ...he should be a Player of the Year candidate. He's done a great job for Duke in a lot of areas. He is currently playing for the No. 2 team in the country, so he's been very beneficial to their team in terms of what he's given them as a rebounder, as a guy who can score inside, as a guy who's a better shooter this year and as another ball-handler they can put out on the court."

On Duke's defense:
"They try to suffocate you. In other words, they don't give you open passes. You have to beat them off the dribble if you want to be successful. They stay after it. The thing I've noticed this year is they're a little deeper. They're more willing to go to their bench than maybe in previous years."

On making getting to the free-throw line a high priority for Maryland:
"We want to shoot free throws. We're a very good free throw-shooting team. You have to drive the ball. Driving the ball is how you get there, and being able to post up and score is how you get there. You don't get there just shooting jump shots."