Maryland V. Duke Live Blog

– Signing in from Comcast is Mike Willis with your live blog. Some asshole sold his seats to a Dookie next to us, so I expect his kid to be crying by the first half. Regardless of score.

– Twenty minutes until tip off, what are the chances Dick Vitale us calling his local RN to complain about a persistent Duke induced erection?

– Tonight’s drinking game? Take a shot any time you see an ethnic Duke fan. :Enjoy your sober night.

– The starters for tonight? Allen, Faust, Wells, Cleare, and Len. That’s not to odd of a lineup. Turgeon should follow the Maryland blueprint to beat Duke. That would be fouling early and often, and exposing their lack of depth.

– Even though Comcast is big, it’s hands down one of the toughest venues to play in thanks to a Maryland student section that wouldn’t hesitate to engage in cannibalism of the Duke ilk.

– Layman islands to start the scoring off with a three. If he’s hot, Maryland is a team that no one wants to face. If Len us jamming like he did on the ensuing possession, this is a team that won’t lose.

– Cleare might get abused by Plumlee if he doesn’t keep him out of the paint. That’s twice he could’ve gotten on him early in an entry pass and failed to do so. Letting Duke score in the paint is a recipe for an offensive barrage.

– Things we’ve learned so far? Seth Curry can shoot, and Maryland can turn the ball over big time.

– Maryland always has someone get hit against them. Tonight it’s Seth Curry who is single handedly making the game hell for them. They have to slow him down, or they’re going to have a very hard time keeping up. On another note, I think the Duke kid next to me pooped himself. Sure smells like it. Maryland down 25-22 with 7 minutes left.

– Len picks up his second foul with fine minutes left. It’s worth noting because him getting into foul trouble puts Maryland in a bind. That being said, they have a lot of front court depth. That’s a good and bad thing.

– Faust isn’t a point guard, as evidenced by his lazy swing pass. But I’ll be damned if he isn’t very creative with the ball. If he ever got his handles in check, Maryland might have an oversized PG on their hands. Maryland down 32-30 with three minutes left.

– Maryland might be down, but their strategy is sound. Duke had considerably better shooters then Maryland traditionally has, and Gary used to muck the game up so badly with fouls that the advantage was all but negated. I think Turgeon is taking a page out of the old guard’s handbook. It might actually work.

– At the half, the Terps lead 35-34, thanks to a big three pointer before the final possession of the half. They’re playing the perimeter well turning third game into trench warfare. If they confront doing that in the second half, I like their chances.

– At the start of the second half, starters are Allen, Layman, Wells, Len, and Shaq. Same as the first half. Here’s to hoping Allen gets hot. His play will be big thus half, Mark my words. Hairston is rumored to have a thumb injury. I guess that’s big too.

– Allen hits a big three to put the Terps up 42-39. I was saying something before about him having a big second half. I’ll post myself on the back now..

– Maryland is hitting their free throws! They’re also up 49-41. This place sounds like a volcano eruption, and they’re following a very Gary strategy in playing down low. We’ll see how this ends.

– Maryland turns it over on two straight possessions and gives Duke a chance to cut the lead to five. Scratch that, they turn it over on three straight possessions and Duke has cut the lead to three. A far cry from the Harlem Shake the student section was doing just two minutes ago. Nobody said it was easy with these Terps.

– Man, the Terrapins certainly know how to make their fans sweat. It’s like none of these players have made routine inbound passes. I have a mini heart attack on every pass.

– Dez Wells misses both free throws, reminding us that Maryland still has major, unspoken of issues in that area.

– Who the hell is this white guy Duke just trotted out to dunk on Maryland and then exit the game?

, Maryland leads it 64-59 on a pair of z Len free throws, and you have to wonder if Duke realizes that he’s their best free throw shooter. Of course Allen turns it over on three next possession. Maryland being Maryland.

– How are the Terps winning this game? Hitting their free throws and playing I’m the paint. Tough basketball isn’t Duke basketball. Maryland has made sure this game isn’t turning into a shooting gallery and in turn doing what their personnel dictates.

– Funny thing about turnovers: they don’t mean a thing until five minutes left in the game. Duke will take advantage if miscues with a few minutes left, count on that.