Terps Take On No. 2 Blue Devils Saturday
2/15/2013 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 15, 2013
• Following a five-day break from games, Maryland returns to action on Saturday as it plays host to second-ranked Duke at 6 p.m. in Comcast Center. The Terps are 17-7 and 5-6 in the ACC after suffering just their second home defeat of the season last Sunday against Virginia. Duke is 22-2 and 9-2 in the conference after a 73-68 win over North Carolina on Wednesday.
| LIVE Coverage on ESPN & the Terrapin Sports Radio Network • Saturday's game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN at 6 p.m. ET. Dave O'Brien (play-by-play), Doris Burke (analyst) and Jeannine Edwards (sidelines) will call the action. The game can also be heard on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network - Johnny Holliday (pbp), Chris Knoche (analyst) and Walt Williams have the call. |
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Storyline
• Against Virginia, Maryland trailed at halftime for the first time at home this season, as the Cavaliers shot 52.2 percent in the opening 20 minutes and finished the game at 54.2 percent, the best by a Maryland opponent this year. After shooting just 35.5 percent in the first half, the Terps responded by knocking down 16 of 27 shots (.593) in the second half, but were unable to get closer than seven points down the stretch.
| Maryland Terrapins: 17-7, 5-6 ACC | |||
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• The Terps rank second in the ACC in field goal percentage at .472 and have exceeded the 40 percent mark in each of the last six games. In that six-game stretch, the Terps have shot it well from beyond the arc, hitting 54 of 96 shots (.404). Jake Layman (12-29, .414), Logan Aronhalt (11-24, .458) and Dez Wells (8-15, .533) have been the biggest contributors from the perimeter of late.
• Maryland has ranked in the top-10 nationally throughout much of the season in opponent field goal percentage. Opposing teams have shot just 36.7 percent against the Terrapins, a mark which leads the ACC and ranks seventh nationally. Virginia was just the second team this season to make better than 50 percent of its shots against Maryland; eight of 11 conference opponent have shot under 38 percent.
• Virginia became the first team this season to outrebound the Terps, finishing with a 34-29 advantage on the boards. Still, Maryland is just one of two teams in the nation with an average rebounding margin in double figures. The Terps are second at plus-10.3, behind just Colorado State (plus-13.8).
Maryland-Duke Series History
• Maryland trails the all-time series 61-113, which dates back to 1925. The Terps trail the series 37-40 at home, with their last win in Comcast coming on March 3, 2010. In that game, the 22nd-ranked Terrapins got 20 points from Greivis Vasquez on senior night, to help knock off the fourth-ranked Blue Devils.
• Duke won the first meeting this season, 84-64 in Durham on Jan. 26, and has won six straight in the series. In the earlier meeting, Dez Wells and Charles Mitchell paced Maryland with 13 points each and the Terps trailed by just eight at halftime before Duke opened it up in the second half. Rasheed Sulaimon led Duke with 25 points, Mason Plumlee had 19 and the Blue Devils shot 52.4 percent in the game.
Quick Hitters
• Against Virginia Tech (2/7), Maryland won for the first time this season when trailing at the half (previously 0-4). After the Hokies closed the first half on a 14-2 run to take the lead, Maryland opened the second half strong by going on a 9-0 run. The Terps never trailed again after that.
• Maryland's big men combined to go 16 of 19 from the field vs. Wake Forest. James Padgett was 6-6, Alex Len was 6-7, Shaquille Cleare was 2-2 and Charles Mitchell was 2-4.
• The Terps set season highs in 3-point field goals made (11) and percentage (.688) against Wake Forest.
• Maryland's 51-50 win over then-No. 14 NC State on Jan. 16 was its first win over a ranked opponent since March 3, 2010, when it beat No. 4 Duke 79-72 at home.
• The Terps are 16-1 this season when they have the lead with 5:00 left in the game, and 1-0 when tied with 5:00 left. The lone loss came at Florida State (1/30).
• The 13-game winning streak Maryland went on earlier this season is tied for the second longest in school history, trailing just the 14-game streak the Terps went on in 1931-32. Maryland also went on a 13-game win streak in 2001-02, the year they went on to win the national title.
• Logan Aronhalt is averaging one 3-point field goal made for every 7.9 minutes on the floor. By comparison, the ACC leader in 3PT FGs made, Scott Wood of NC State, makes one 3-pointer every 12.5 minutes on the floor.
• At least eight players have scored in 21 of Maryland's 24 games this year. The exceptions are vs. George Mason, at Miami and at North Carolina, when just seven players scored.
• The Terps are 13-2 when making as many or more free throws than the opponent, and 4-5 when making fewer free throws.
• When Seth Allen, Jake Layman and Shaquille Cleare drew starts against UMES, it marked the first time Maryland started three true freshmen since Dec. 28, 1993, when Keith Booth, Matt Kovarik and Joe Smith did vs. Hofstra. That trio also started at Florida State (1/30).
• Charles Mitchell earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors on Dec. 31 for his play against Delaware State on Dec. 29. Mitchell came off the bench to score 19 points and grab 14 rebounds, both career highs. Mitchell is the second Terp to earn weekly ACC honors; Alex Len was Player of the Week on Nov. 12.
Hitting the Mark
• Maryland has assisted on 59 percent (375 of 634) of its field goals this season. The Terps have recorded double-digit assists in 22 of 24 games (exceptions are at Miami & at North Carolina), and rank second in the ACC with 15.6 per game. Maryland is 16-2 when recording at least 14 assists.
• On average, Maryland has recorded 17.7 assists per game in wins, while in its seven losses it has averaged just 10.6.
Hot Shooting
• Maryland ranks second in the ACC in field goal percentage at .472, behind just NC State (.500). That marks also ranks 30th nationally. The Terps have shot above 40 percent in each of the past six contests, snapping a streak of four straight games in which they shot under 40 percent. Prior to that streak of four games, Maryland had shot better than 40 percent in 12 of its previous 13 games.
• Against Wake Forest (2/2), Maryland recorded its fifth-best field goal percentage in program history at .673. The four single-game marks better than that are: .833 (15-18) vs. South Carolina, 1/9/71; .739 (34-46) vs. Wake Forest, 1/28/86; .732 (30-41) vs. NC State, 12/20/80; and .704 (50-71) vs. Miami (OH), 12/28/79.
Scoring from Underclassmen
• Seven of the 10 players in Maryland's regular rotation are underclassmen and 80 percent of Maryland's scoring (57.3 of 71.4 points per game) is coming from underclassmen. Maryland's top four scorers are underclassmen in sophomores Alex Len (12.5 ppg), Dez Wells (12.0 ppg) and Nick Faust (8.3 ppg) and freshman Seth Allen (7.5 ppg).
• The Terps have just one 1,000-point scorer on the roster this season in graduate student Logan Aronhalt. Aronhalt scored 1,100 points at Albany before transferring to Maryland prior to this season. Maryland's next top scorer is senior James Padgett with 609 career points, followed by Wells (601), Faust (484) and Len (430).
Field Goal Percentage Defense
• Maryland leads the ACC and ranks seventh nationally in field goal percentage defense at .367. The Terps have held 15 of the last 20 opponents under 40 percent shooting, including eight of 11 ACC opponents. Just Kansas (.360), Texas (.362), Texas-Arlington (.364), Syracuse (.366), Stephen F. Austin (.367) and Southern U. (.367) have held opponents to a lower mark than Maryland has.
Super Subs
• Maryland's bench has been an asset all season, as the Terps' non-starters have outscored the opponents non-starters in 21 of 24 games (exceptions are Kentucky, George Mason & North Carolina).
• On the year, Maryland's bench has a 625-255 (26.0 to 10.6 per game) advantage over the opponent.
• All 10 players in Maryland's regular rotation are averaging double-figure minutes, and no player is averaging more than 27 minutes per game (Dez Wells is first at 26.9).
• Logan Aronhalt has been a consistent contributor as a long-range specialist. He is nine 3-point field goals made shy of qualifying for the ACC lead, but his .476 mark from beyond the arc would lead the league. He has made at least one 3-pointer in 20 of 24 games this season. Of his 47 field goals made this season, 39 are 3-pointers.
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Media Information
• Terps on the Web: For up-to-date game stories, statistics, schedules and results, and other Maryland athletic department information, please log-on to www.umterps.com on the Internet.
• GameTracker: Follow Terps games live in 2013 on your computer with GameTracker. Links for all games that will be available can be found at www.umterps.com.
