Blue Devils prep for Terps
After a victory for the ages in Chapel Hill, it’s back to business for Duke.
Fresh off their last-second victory over the Tar Heels, the No. 10 Blue Devils (20-4, 7-2 in the ACC) will host Maryland (14-9, 4-5) in a conference showdown Saturday at 4 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils’ most recent win was headlined by freshman Austin Rivers’ career-high 29 points, including the buzzer-beating 3-pointer that capped off a 10-point comeback in the game’s last 2:09.
“We come here and get a win and now we’ve got Maryland this weekend so we have to be prepared for them,” Rivers said.
The Terrapins defeated Clemson on the road by a 64-62 margin behind 27 points from guard Terrell Stoglin. Stoglin is the ACC’s leading scorer at 22.0 points per game.
Duke met Maryland in College Park Jan. 25, where the Blue Devils prevailed 74-61 despite shooting just 3-of-16 from beyond the arc. Duke was paced by 23 points and 12 rebounds from Mason Plumlee. Stoglin was held at bay by the Duke defense, shooting 0-for-4 from long range on his way to scoring 16 points for the Terrapins.
Maryland will rely on Stoglin to carry most of its scoring load, but will need to push the ball inside to center Alex Len if they want the game to remain competitive. Len, who was injured earlier in the season, played just 12 minutes in the Terrapins’ first matchup against Duke. He has stepped up his play recently and was a key contributor in Maryland’s close loss to North Carolina, registering 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. After struggling with the Tar Heels’ own John Henson and Tyler Zeller in Chapel Hill, the Blue Devils will need to buckle down on the inside to stop Len.
The Blue Devils will likely attempt to balance out their offensive attack against Maryland, following a game against North Carolina where they relied heavily on 3-pointers. They will attempt to get Miles and Mason Plumlee early touches in the post while their guards get into the flow of the game. The Plumlee brothers combined for just 11 points and 17 rebounds in Wednesday’s win despite averaging 17.8 points and 15.7 rebounds per game combined on the season.