The Blue Devils hosted the Maryland Terrapins with a whole lot to prove. Luckily for Duke, they would get to prove it on their home court. The concern for Duke going into this game had to be how to respond to the thrashing from Miami. Duke was an utter disappointment against Miami, not only did the Blue Devils get run out of the gym, but they did not compete. How would Duke pick up the pride and put that game behind them? Another concern would have to be the size of MD, with several bullish players on its roster and a Duke team that is often out-rebounded, that would have to factor into Duke’s preparation and the story line of this game.
MD would play Duke tough for most of the game, but Duke, behind amazing shooting from freshman Rasheed Sulaimon, would eventually bury the Terps. Sheed would lead the Devils in scoring and in moxie. Sulaimon would score a career high 25 points on 6-8 from beyond the arc. Mason Plumlee needed to step up after the Miami game. Arguably the most important cog on this Duke team, Mason would score 19 points and pull down 7 rebounds. One reverse outback would bring the entire bench to their feet. Quinn Cook contended to show why HE is the answer at the point for Duke. Cook had 9 assists to only 2 turnovers, and 11 points. If Cook can keep this sort of production up in games on the road, Duke will be sitting pretty
Duke would triumph over the Terps 84-64, but there was plenty for the Devils to work on:
Rebounding is still an issue for Duke, MD, with their bulk and grit, out-rebounded Duke 43-34. It’s hard to see Duke winning a game like this versus a top-tier team with that kind of disparity on the glass. On the heels of the rebounding stats are the amount of second chance points MD had. They won that category 22-11, doubling up the Devils.
Free throw shooting is an issue that is creeping up slowly on the Devils. Duke shot 7 -of-17 from the line and that included a 1-of-6 performance in the second half. Duke would make up for it by shooting better from beyond the arc than from the foul line. When shots aren’t falling from long distance, this stat could be a dangerous one for Duke. Mason Plumlee, while you cannot knock much about his game, is still struggling from the free throw line. He has the look of a confident shooter but went just 1-of-5 in the game. No one expects night and day from last year this quickly, but this could be an issue in tight games going forward.
Freshman Amile Jefferson continues to make strides for the Blue Devils, and while the injury to Ryan Kelly has no doubt been a major adjustment for Duke, the emergence of Jefferson as a reliable starter is a welcome addition. Jefferson made his mark against MD with 9 rebounds and 11 points.
This was the type of game that Duke would need to get its groove back, hopefully the Devils carry that winning feeling into Winston-Salem on Wednesday.
Official Basketball Box Score
Maryland vs Duke
01/26/13 1:00 PM at Durham, N.C. (Cameron Indoor Stadium)
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VISITORS: Maryland 15-5, 3-4
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
32 Dez Wells........... f 5-13 1-4 2-3 4 4 8 1 13 1 3 2 0 36
44 Shaquille Cleare.... f 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 4 2 0 1 0 0 16
25 Alex Len............ c 3-6 0-0 2-5 2 8 10 2 8 0 1 1 0 34
05 Nick Faust.......... g 3-12 2-5 1-2 3 1 4 1 9 3 4 0 1 30
10 Jake Layman......... g 2-6 1-5 0-0 0 1 1 2 5 0 0 1 0 24
00 Charles Mitchell.... 5-8 0-0 3-4 6 1 7 3 13 1 2 1 0 13
02 Logan Aronhalt...... 2-4 1-2 0-0 1 1 2 0 5 1 2 0 0 10
04 Seth Allen.......... 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 10
21 Pe'Shon Howard...... 2-5 0-1 1-2 0 2 2 1 5 3 1 0 0 21
35 James Padgett....... 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 6
TEAM................ 1 1
Totals.............. 25-60 5-18 9-16 17 26 43 16 64 10 14 5 1 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-36 41.7% 2nd Half: 10-24 41.7% Game: 41.7% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-11 27.3% 2nd Half: 2-7 28.6% Game: 27.8% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-6 33.3% 2nd Half: 7-10 70.0% Game: 56.3% 2
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HOME TEAM: Duke 17-2, 4-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 Mason Plumlee....... f 9-12 0-0 1-5 3 4 7 3 19 3 1 0 2 37
21 Amile Jefferson..... f 3-8 0-0 5-9 5 4 9 3 11 1 0 3 0 24
02 Quinn Cook.......... g 5-13 1-5 0-0 0 5 5 1 11 9 2 0 2 40-
14 Rasheed Sulaimon.... g 9-13 6-8 1-2 0 1 1 4 25 2 0 0 0 29
30 Seth Curry.......... g 5-14 3-8 0-0 1 3 4 0 13 1 0 0 2 32
03 Tyler Thornton...... 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 3 3 3 3 1 0 0 0 21
12 Alex Murphy......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+
15 Josh Hairston....... 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 2 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 14
40 Marshall Plumlee.... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3
TEAM................ 2 1 3
Totals.............. 33-63 11-22 7-17 11 23 34 15 84 18 4 3 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-30 50.0% 2nd Half: 18-33 54.5% Game: 52.4% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 7-10 70.0% 2nd Half: 4-12 33.3% Game: 50.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 6-11 54.5% 2nd Half: 1-6 16.7% Game: 41.2% 3
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Officials: Les Jones, Bryan Kersey, Michael Stephens
Technical fouls: Maryland-None. Duke-Mason Plumlee.
Attendance: 9314
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Maryland...................... 35 29 - 64
Duke.......................... 43 41 - 84
Points in the paint-MD 38,DU 36. Points off turnovers-MD 5,DU 18.
2nd chance points-MD 21,DU 11. Fast break points-MD 4,DU 8.
Bench points-MD 27,DU 5. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-3 times.
Last FG-MD 2nd-01:36, DU 2nd-00:55.
Largest lead-MD by 2 1st-19:35, DU by 20 2nd-04:39.
