Kyle Singler is so ugly that when he cries, the tears turn around and go down the back of his head.
Duke is coming to Comcast Center this evening to renew a rivalry that has been on ice for a few years. Although the Terps have played the Blue Devils tight through the lean times of the Gilchrist and Caner-Medley Years, there has been a sense that this was not an even match-up for a long while. Now, the Dukies are so swollen with pride that they claim that Maryland is not their rival. In fact, this “non-rivalry” is so heated that fans from both sides of the aisle have contested the existence of it with competing edits to the Wikipedia entry on the rivalry.
Tonight, the rivalry is rekindled because there are high stakes involved. There are implications bigger than one win or loss. There is more than just pride on the line. There’s an ACC regular season title at stake. There is an implication that the winner of this game is the team to beat in the ACC Tournament. There are tangible rankings, votes, and NCAA Tournament seedings on the line. There’s bragging rights on the line. There’s confidence on the line.
The Terps have rattled off five straight wins since their 2/13 loss at Duke. Maryland has shaken off the stigma of a few early season losses and disrespect in the press to put itself in a position to win the conference. They’ve shed their pride and just played harder than the rest, and that’s been the difference between mediocrity and success.
In a high stakes game, winning and losing is determined by who blinks first. Maryland didn’t blink in a last second win against Georgia Tech. They didn’t blink in 2OT’s against Virginia Tech. They’re not going to blink against Duke.
Unlike the last go around, the Terps will be hosting the Blue Devils. During the 2/13 game at Cameron Indoor, Duke jumped all over Maryland, and it was over as soon as it began. Maryland couldn’t get over its mistakes and the momentum was too much to overcome.
The Terps are a much better home team than a road team, and Duke will be stripped of its home court advantage. At Comcast Center, Brian Cro-magnon Zoubek won’t get away with a half dozen over the back fouls. John Schyer won’t be able to use his left arm to push off without hearing the whistle. The Cameron Crazies will be watching this game on TV. Duke is going to have to come into the shell and fight.
At home, on senior night, with everything at stake, Maryland will have the juice to pull it out. They’ll do it on the back of Greivis Vasquez, a guy that is playing above his head right now. He’s going to outplay Jon Schyer and show everyone why he’s the ACC Player of the Year. Schyer vs. Vasquez is the key match-up, and nobody is playing better than Greivis Vasquez right now. Add to that the fact that Mosley and Hayes have awoken from the slumber they were in during the 2/13 game, and this contest should be a much closer affair than it was three weeks ago.
The Terps are a 1.5PT homedog, and Vegas Sports-Odds feels strongly enough about the Terps that they wrote a feature on why it’s a good idea to put money on them. My prediction: Maryland wins 74-73.
Congratulations to Greivis Vasquez, Landon Milbourne, and Eric Hayes on your great college careers. Go Terps.
