Feb. 29, 2012

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Nick Faust led Maryland with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and Terrell Stoglin added 16, but the Terps fell to No. 6 North Carolina 88-64 Wednesday night.

Tyler Zeller had 30 points to help North Carolina set up a matchup with fourth-ranked Duke to determine the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship.

John Henson added 19 points for the Tar Heels (26-4, 13-2 ACC), who led all game to cap a 17-1 home record.

Zeller went just 5 for 12 from the field but finished with his best scoring performance in an ACC game thanks to the number of times he went to the free throw line. The 7-footer made 20 of 23 attempts, breaking Tyler Hansbrough's Smith Center record for made free throws in a game and finishing one shy of matching the program's and ACC's all-time mark.

Teammate Kendall Marshall set a record of his own, finishing with eight assists to set UNC's season mark.

North Carolina led by 11 points at halftime and blew the game open with a 16-0 run midway through the second half, pushing the margin to 31.

Faust set a career-high with his 17 points for the Terrapins (16-13, 6-9), while Stoglin, the ACC's leading scorer, finished with 16 on 4-for-18 shooting.

"I thought Carolina was great, especially Zeller," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. "We couldn't guard him. All night he kept drawing fouls on us. He controlled the game at the foul line, I thought, and we didn't have a post guy who really took on the challenge all night with him."

North Carolina has won six straight games since the Blue Devils snapped the Tar Heels' school-record 31-game home winning streak on Feb. 8. That game that ended with freshman Austin Rivers burying a 3-pointer at the buzzer, capping Duke's comeback from 10 down in the final 2 1/2 minutes.

It was also one of the few dark moments for Zeller in a senior season that has made him a strong candidate for ACC player of the year. He missed two free throws in the final minute, accidentally tipped a rebound into the Duke basket and ended up defending Rivers after a switch before the final shot.

Duke and UNC entered the week tied atop the league standings. The Blue Devils won at Wake Forest on Tuesday night to take care of their part, then the Tar Heels did the same 24 hours later. The teams meet Saturday night at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium.

James Padgett had his second career double-double for Maryland, finishing with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. The junior grabbed five offensive rebounds to become just the eighth Terp in school history to record more than 100 in a season.

Maryland closes the regular season at home Sunday against Virginia at 2 p.m.

The Associated Press contributed to this recap