20 minutes finished, Duke down by 9 at halftime (1st time they trailed at the half and also the largest deficit of the season), hostile crowd, yet I've never been so confident that Duke would be there at the end.
Maryland, especially against Duke, is very well-coached and always have a game plan that exposes the biggest Devil weakness. In most of the 1st Half, the Terps executed brilliantly when Duke doubled one big man, that big guy passed out of it to a wide open big underneath basket. Last year in College Park, Duke trailed 29-9 early on and it was a Mount Everest uphill battle after that. This year, I felt that if they could withstand that big first punch from Maryland, they could win the game. They did and they won because of it. I've always looked at a Duke game on the road as a heavyweight bout. If the Devils can withstand the big uppercut or take one and get up off the mat, they should prevail because their skill level and effort is always sustained over a full 40 minutes.
The biggest sequence of the game, to me, involved Lance Thomas in the beginning of the 2nd Half. The Terps got the ball first and immediately called Osby's number again but a combo of Kyle Singler and Lance Thomas forced a travelling violation. Then, on the other end, Duke went into Lance Thomas and got a tough basket in the lane, which seemed like a temporary halt of the Maryland momentum. At that point, the DeMarcus Nelson show began and it was a pleasure to watch. For the first time in his Duke career, he took over a game and refused to let the Blue Devils lose. Whether it was steals, drives to the basket, hitting free throws and even a late 3 pointer that extended a Duke lead, Nelson was fantastic. He finished with a career high 27 points but his point total was immensely dwarfed in comparison to his defense and leadership on the court last night.
The other story in this game was Gerald Henderson. He makes that medium-range jumper look so easy that it hurts every time I see him bury another one. With Eliot Williams coming to Duke next year, Henderson may jump to the NBA and almost certainly be a Top 20 pick. If that happens, Duke will take another step back because they are winning because their wings, Nelson and Henderson, are athletic enough to somewhat make up for a lack of size down low. Nelson, unfortunately, is done after this year no matter what but hopefully Henderson values a chance at a Duke degree and he really doesn't need the money with his father being a former NBA player.
Anyway, this was a tremendous win for the Dukies and they on rolling along with this revenge tour. Can they keep it going against a struggling NC State team on Thursday? I hope so. I will have a prediction later on in the week...
BTW, in case you're wondering, Cliff Tucker wanted to back up his words so much, he raised his level of play to the tune of 4 points and 3 rebounds. Good job Cliff!!!!!!!!!Keep it up...
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