January 21, 2004. 
Comcast Center.
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   Earlier in the year, Daniel Ewing and JJ Redick were expected to carry the scoring load for the team and instead found themselves hampered by injuries.  Duke struggled during this period, getting themselves out of their funk with outstanding defense and more balanced play.  It's only fitting that that duo should bail Duke out on the road against a highly motivated Maryland team.  After all, the Terps have whipped up on Duke two years in a row in College Park.  Last year's game, where Duke quickly coughed up a halftime lead, was particularly embarrassing.  Duke's frosh looked like deer in headlights.  This time around, Duke was poised and confident, having already beaten several teams on the road this year.

  There were three reasons why Duke was able to win: the crazy shooting of JJ Redick, the toughness & leadership of Chris Duhon, and authoritative rebounding by everyone, especially on the offensive boards.  Duke would up outrebounding the Terps 49-34, including 24-10 on the o-boards.  That made up for subpar shooting (just 34% to Maryland's 42%) and a subpar offensive game from Shelden Williams.  Five different players had at least 6 rebounds, which may be unprecedented at Duke.

  The game was tight early on.  JJ kept Duke in the question with 8 straight points, including 2 threes.  Those shots got him comfortable in the Comcast Center, and he was never shaken.  Maryland kept things close thanks to their frontcourt of Jamar Smith and Nik Caner-Medley, who was truly heroic in this game.  Duhon then tossed the ball back to Redick, who was a good 24 feet away from the basket.  To the surprise of the Maryland crowd, he spotted up and sank a rocket from that distance.  That shot energized the Devils and bewildered Maryland as it triggered an 11-0 run. Duke did it by forcing quick shots and turnovers, with fast break finishes by Deng and Ewing.

  Maryland crept within 23-14, but a Ewing three (from JJ) and a Williams dunk after a Shav Randolph steal and Ewing pass gave Duke their biggest lead.  Duke struggled in the last five minutes of the half, as Maryland went on a 15-7 run, including the last 6 points of the half.  Only a tip from Ewing and a Deng three kept Duke ahead.  Redick committed an offensive foul with 7 seconds to go in the half and Nick Horvath a blocking foul with 1 second to go.  The refs were pretty strict as to what was an offensive foul, because Duke was whistled for them on 4 occasions. Both Williams and Randolph had picked up 2 fouls, making them ineffective against Smith.

  Duke came out strong to start the second half, making sure to get the ball inside.  Shelden hit a turnaround jumper and then scored on a two-man game with Duhon.  Redick then blasted the Terps with 3 made free throws after he was fouled taking a shot and then uncorked another three to make it 45-33.  A Deng drive and another Redick score off an inbounds play made it 49-35 with about sixteen minutes to go.

  The Terps kept coming, cut it to 50-44 with tweleve minutes to go.  Duke was missing threes and Maryland was taking advantage of long rebounds. Point guard John Gilchrist hit a three and had a drive to lead his team back.  Deng missed on a drive but Randolph was there to tip in it.   Duhon then got a steal and layup and then scored on another drive to put Duke up 56-46, giving them a little bit of breathing room.   Deng scored on a tip to keep that lead at 10 with eight minutes to go.

  Back came the Terps with a 7-0 run; Caner-Medley had 5 of them.  Redick then used a shot fake to get his man to bite, relocated and then let fly. After that shot dropped, Shelden blocked Jamar Smith and Redick got the board.   Duhon scored on a drive to put Duke up 63-55 with 3:39 to go. Once again, the Terps refused to die.  Caner-Medley dunked and then hit a short jumper after Deng couldn't get a stickback to fall.  Duhon missed a shot and the Terps had possession with over a minute left, down 63-60.  DJ Strawberry went baseline, but Redick stripped him and tossed the ball in as he was falling out of bounds.  He then got the ball back and hit 2 freebies as the Comcast Center crowd was chanting "F-You, JJ!"--truly the ultimate compliment.  Gilchrist missed a couple of more shots down the stretch, Duke rebounded, and made its free throws.

  This was a great game for Duke because they won on a night where not everyone was firing on all cylinders.  The Devils got big rebounds, timely steals (19-6 edge in points off turnovers) and hurt the Terps inside after offensive rebounds (18-4 on second chance points).  Any road win in this league must be savored, especially this year when it's so hard to win on the road.  It's nice that Duke has 3 in their back pocket, but they have a long way to go.

 ** Negatives:

 1. Post offense.  With the imposing Jamar Smith inside, Shelden was rushing shots all night.  He didn't realize that his normally somewhat slow release was going to get some of his shots swatted away.

 2. Transition defense.  The quick Gilchrist and Strawberry took advantage of the few Duke miscues by making them pay in the open court.  Maryland actually outscored Duke 10-8 in fast break points.

  ** Positives:

 1. Offensive rebounding.  This one's obvious and the key to the game. Beyond Caner-Medley and Smith combining for 14 rebounds, the Terps didn't get much help.  Deng and Williams combined had more offensive rebounds than the entire Maryland team (11-10).

 2. Post defense.  This was a big secon-half key.  Williams recovered from foul trouble enough to hold Smith to 1 second half point.

 3. Valuing the ball.  Duke got in trouble last year when they started turning the ball over against Maryland's press.  In this game, they had 11 turnovers total, 5 of them offensive fouls.

 Player-by-Player

 ** Williams:  Shelden had trouble with Smith's defense, but didn't let that get him down.  He overcame foul trouble to play outstanding defense in the second half.  His rebounding was a big key for Duke, as was his shotblocking; one block of Smith came at a critical time for Duke.  Not his best game overall, but he proved he can contribute in other ways than just scoring.

 ** Deng:   Luol was so charged up for this game he was practically vibrating.  That led to some bad shots in the early going and a couple of turnovers.  His teammates got him to calm down a bit, and the result was a brilliant second half.  Maryland couldn't keep him off the boards, especially at the offensive end.  He did let Caner-Medley go a few times and lost track of him.  This was a good game that will be a great game later in his career.

 ** Ewing:  Dan had a strong first half with several key baskets and defensive plays.  His steal ignited a fast break for Deng, and he then finished a fast break on the next play.  He hit a three to stop a Maryland run and fed Williams inside on the next play.  Late in the half, he had a tip-in and found Deng for three.  He had a hand in 7 of Duke's last 8 scoring plays in the half.   He missed all 4 shots in the second half, which is unusual for him.

 ** Redick:  Hitting 5 of 6 from three and 9 of 9 from the line is quite impressive, but not surprising.  That's all within JJ's game, and there will always be nights where he can't miss.  What was more impressive was the way he fought for rebounds (6), passed the ball (2 assists) and played defense (3 steals).  His strip on Strawberry was the key play of the game; it was a smart play and a clean play.  As JJ matures, it'll be nice to see him strive to be a smart defender with all-around skills, rather than just a shooter.  It's obvious that he's been working hard on this.  In some areas, the work hasn't quite paid off; his running jumper is still a bit awkward, and he does lose his man at times.  But on nights like this, when he becomes one of the team's best offensive and defensive threats, Duke becomes very difficult to beat.  To do it on the road in a building where he had trouble last year makes it all the sweeter.

 ** Duhon:  One of the nice things about watching four-year players is that it's never too late to develop new skills, both in terms of the game itself and people skills.  Chris spends most of the game trying to set up his teammates, and his assist rate continues to climb.  His 8:2 ratio in this game was outstanding, particularly when you consider that he was up against a tough, physical foe in Gilchrist.  I should add that Gilchrist was 3-10 in this game with 4 turnovers to 7 assists and 10 points.  What Chris is doing now in endgame situations is looking to drive for scores. One will note that Shelden is now expertly setting screens to seal off the help defender; once Chris beats his man off the dribble, there will be one there to stop him.  Chris is going hard to the basket and also reserves the use of his floater in some situations.   This was a game where his shot wasn't really on, but his 2 drives in the second half were crucial for Duke.  Everyone is keying off of what Chris is doing, and it's working.

 ** Randolph:  Shav's tip-in was a crucial play for Duke, and he continues to do a fine job rebounding, playing defense and blocking shots.  The one area where he's not excelling is finishing inside.  He may not yet be strong enough to finish in traffic against strong players, and has also had some free throw problems of late.  He's still growing into his body and his role, but I'd like to see a big offensive explosion from him at some point, especially one that incorporates outside shooting, driving to the basket and finishing in the post.

 ** Dockery:  Sean only got 8 minutes as Coach K went with a larger lineup against Maryland.  He did score on a fast break basket.