PressBox: Terps Fall Flat Against Duke

Terps Fall Flat Against Duke

By Kevin Heitz

It was a night of lost opportunities for the Maryland Terrapins. Missed free throws, an inability to hit from beyond the arc and numerous failed shots inside the paint added up to an 80-62 loss to rival Duke.

After the game, when the thousands of yellow-clad students had emptied out of the Comcast Center, coach Gary Williams was obviously disappointed.

"I didn't think we were playing with the energy necessary to play a team as good as Duke," Williams said. "We did a very poor job defensively against a team on different things. [Kyle] Singler there in the second half really hurt us when he got loose and we had made a little bit of a run. It's a team thing. You have to get ready to play. You have to believe you can win that game and that's what we have to work on."

There were plenty of times during the game when the team and the fans believed the Terps could win. After Singler hit a 3-pointer to give Duke a 54-40 lead, Maryland went on an 11-2 run to get within five. But just as quickly, the Blue Devils countered with a 10-3 run to stretch the lead to 12 -- and send the fans toward the doors.

"We have to win games," said Jordan Williams, who scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his nation-leading 19th double-double. "That's the bottom line. We don't have a quality win under our belt. We beat some tough teams but we don't have a win against a ranked opponent. That's what we need to do to make the (NCAA) Tournament. We just have to keep moving forward and trying to improve."

The Terps are now 14-8 overall and one of three ACC squads with a 4-4 conference mark (Boston College, Clemson).

"We've got eight league games left," Gary Williams said. "We've got a chance to win those games. We're going to have to work really hard and do a better job of executing in the game."

Their next chance comes Saturday against Wake Forest.

AROUND THE ACC

Duke's next opponent, N.C. State, fell to 2-6 in conference play following last night's 77-69 loss to Virginia Tech in Raleigh, N.C. The Hokies' Malcolm Delaney scored his 2,000th career point and dished his 500th assist during the game, becoming just the fourth player in Virginia Tech history to score 2,000 points.

Virginia survived a brutal second half to eek out a 49-47 win against Clemson in Charlottesville last night. Mustapha Farrakhan scored six points during the final minutes to rescue the Cavaliers after the Tigers outscored them, 19-4, during an 11-minute stretch in the second half.

ON TAP

There's just one game on the ACC slate tonight. Georgia Tech travels to Miami looking to join Clemson, Boston College and Maryland with a 4-4 conference record. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, are looking for their second conference win.

STANDINGS
Duke   7-1 ACC (20-2 overall)
North Carolina   6-1 (16-5)
Florida State   6-2 (16-5)
Virginia Tech   5-3 (15-6)
Boston College   4-4 (14-8)
Maryland   4-4 (14-8)
Clemson   4-4 (15-7)
Georgia Tech   3-4 (10-10)
Virginia   3-5 (12-10)
Miami   1-6 (12-9)
Wake Forest   1-6 (8-14)

Posted Feb. 3, 2011