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ACC schedule quick take: Duke

Conference: Home --- Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest; Road --- Boston College, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia

Nonconference: Home --- Richmond, Stanford, Tulane; Road --- Florida International

Bye: Week 6

Don’t play: Clemson, Maryland, N.C. State

Must-see: For the second straight year, a Heisman Trophy candidate is coming to Wallace Wade Stadium. Stanford QB Andrew Luck will pay a visit to Durham as the Cardinal comes east in the season's second week.

A favorable setup: If it wasn't for the fact Stanford is loaded, this is precisely the sort of nonconference schedule the Blue Devils should play. There's a I-AA team, two private schools with good academic reputations and then a winnable game against a non-BCS conference school. Alas, Stanford will start off as a top-10 team, and the path to six victories isn't exactly clear.

And not so much: Duke could use every bit of help it can muster in order to reach its first bowl game since 1994. Playing three of its final four on the road --- including a trip to Miami and another to Chapel Hill for the latest installment in the lopsided Victory Bell "rivalry" --- places a huge onus on the first two months of the season and allows few missteps from the start.

The full schedule:

Sept. 3: Richmond
Sept. 10: Stanford
Sept. 17: at Boston College
Sept. 24: Tulane

Oct. 1: at Florida International
Oct. 15: Florida State
Oct. 22: Wake Forest
Oct. 29: Virginia Tech

Nov. 5: at Miami
Nov. 12: at Virginia
Nov. 19: Georgia Tech
Nov. 26: at North Carolina

Maryland plus-minus: Duke

Maryland's 80-62 loss to Duke --- its largest margin of defeat ever in Comcast Center, breaking a record set a mere 13 days earlier --- had a predictable effect on the Terrapins' individual plus-minus.

No players had plus totals (though Hauk Palsson and Pe'Shon Howard had positive totals in the first half) as Maryland fell to 14-8 overall and 4-4 in conference play.

More after the jump.

Improved Duke frontcourt awaits Maryland

There's no real ideal way for a team to approach a game against Duke.

Generally speaking, the Blue Devils have two of the 10 best (if not five or six best) players in the country in Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler. They have plenty of talent elsewhere on their roster, even if Kyrie Irving isn't healthy.

Smith and Singler are going to get theirs on just about any night. Singler has at least 15 points in 14 of 21 games. Smith has reached that figure in all but two games. And both had solid night against Maryland back on Jan. 9, though Smith was forced to work for all of his points.

That said, the Brothers Plumlee and Ryan Kelly combined for six points on 3-for-14 shooting in that game. They did manage 21 rebounds in 60 minutes, but offensively they were nonfactors.

Maryland might not be so fortunate to catch all three on a sluggish night on Wednesday.

Kelly is averaging 13 points over his last four games, shooting 18-for-23 from the floor. Mason Plumlee has reached double figures in rebounds in six of seven conference games --- the exception being his foul-plagued stint against Maryland.

"They're a big, talented frontcourt," Maryland forward Dino Gregory said. "We know that going in. Last game, the Plumlee brothers and Kelly didn't play as well, but as of late, they've been playing really well together. We're aware of that and we're excited about the challenge."

Kelly's breakout is perhaps the most daunting development for Duke opponents. The 6-foot-11 sophomore has started all but four games,  but reached double figures in scoring only twice before his recent stretch. He's 9-for-18 from 3-point land in ACC play, and his presence is an added wrinkle to contend with.

"I think Duke is different in that Kelly is shooting the ball better now," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "He's almost reached the point where he is a look that they go to in their offense and that wasn't true the first time we played them. That just makes them tougher to cover because when they've got it going, and I know they didn't shoot well against St. John's, but when they get it going they can put at least three great 3-point shooters out there plus a scorer that can shoot 3s. That's a pretty good combination and tough to defend."

One thing seems likely: Maryland will need far greater frontcourt depth against Duke than it did Sunday against Georgia Tech, when Hauk Palsson and James Padgett combined for five minutes, two fouls, one rebound and no shots.

Palsson played 14 solid minutes against the Blue Devils last month, and the Terps could use a rerun to help contain Duke's perimeter-oriented lineup.

"I think so, but those guys are ready," Gregory said of the need to use more forwards on Wednesday. "They're excited about the challenge coming up. Padgett has been around for a while now and Hauk's come into his own. I have confidence they'll come ready to play."

Flipping through history: Current Terps vs. Duke

Running down the individual outings of current Maryland players against Duke over the years ...

ADRIAN BOWIE: 18.1 mpg, 5.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.3 tpg, 0.3 spg, 0.1 bpg, 16/43 FG (.372), 3/9 3FG (.333), 8/12 FT (.667)

2008 (H): 12 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 1/1 FG
2008 (A): 3 minutes, 2 points, 1/1 FG
2009 (A): 30 minutes, 3 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 turnovers, 1 steal, 1/10 FG, 0/1 3FG, 1/2 FT
2009 (H): 23 minutes, 14 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 4/8 FG, 1/1 3FG, 5/7 FT
2009 (N): 23 minutes, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 4/11 FG, 1/3 3FG, 1/1 FT
2010 (A): 8 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 1/4 FG, 0/1 3FG
2010 (H): 14 minutes, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4/4 FG, 1/1 3FG
2011 (A): 32 minutes, 1 point, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 turnover, 0/4 FG, 0/2 3FG, 1/2 FT

DINO GREGORY: 20.7 mpg, 2.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.7 tpg, 1.0 spg, 2.0 bpg, 4/17 FG (.235), 7/12 FT (.583)

2009 (A): 16 minutes, 1 point, 4 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 3 blocks, 0/1 FG, 1/2 FT
2009 (H): 17 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 0/2 FG
2009 (N): 20 minutes, 1 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 0/2 FG, 1/2 FT
2010 (A): 21 minutes, 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 turnover, 4 blocks, 0/3 FG, 3/4 FT
2010 (H): 20 minutes, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 1/2 FG
2011 (A): 30 minutes, 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 4 blocks, 3/7 FG, 2/4 FT

CLIFF TUCKER: 11.4 mpg, 5.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.1 tpg, 0.1 spg, 0.5 bpg, 18/42 FG (.429), 2/10 3FG (.200), 4/7 FT (.571)

2008 (H): 18 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 2/3 FG
2008 (A): 13 minutes, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 block, 1/2 FG
2009 (A): 17 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1/1 FG
2009 (H): 19 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 turnover, 1 block, 1/5 FG, 0/2 3FG, 2/4 FT
2009 (N): 5 minutes, 0 points
2010 (A): 24 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 5/13 FG, 0/4 3FG, 2/2 FT
2010 (H): 11 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2/5 FG
2011 (A): 29 minutes, 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 blocks, 6/13 FG, 2/4 3FG, 0/1 FT

SEAN MOSLEY: 25.5 mpg, 6.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 tpg, 0.8 spg, 0.5 bpg, 13/44 FG (.295), 2/7 3FG (.286), 11/12 FT (.917)

2009 (A): 23 minutes, 4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal, 1 block, 1/7 FG, 1/2 3FG, 1/2 FT
2009 (H): 23 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 turnover, 1 block, 2/7 FG
2009 (N): 25 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 steal, 1 block, 2/6 FG, 0/1 3FG, 4/4 FT
2010 (A): 24 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal, 2/6 FG, 0/1 3FG
2010 (H): 33 minutes, 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3/10 FG, 1/3 3FG, 4/4 FT
2011 (A): 25 minutes, 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 steals, 3/8 FG, 2/2 FT

JAMES PADGETT: 5.7 mpg, 1.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.7 tpg, 2/3 FG (.667)

2010 (A): 8 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1/1 FG
2010 (H): 5 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 turnover
2011 (A): 4 minutes, 2 points, 1 turnover, 1/2 FG

JORDAN WILLIAMS: 28.3 mpg, 14.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 0.3 apg, 1.3 tpg, 0.3 spg, 1.7 bpg, 17/35 FG (.486), 10/16 FT (.625)

2010 (A): 24 minutes, 6 points, 7 rebounds, 1 turnover, 1 steal, 3/9 FG, 0/1 FT
2010 (H): 34 minutes, 15 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks, 4/9 FG, 7/9 FT
2011 (A): 31 minutes, 23 points, 13 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 2 blocks, 10/17 FG, 3/6 FT

PE'SHON HOWARD: 10 minutes, 5 points, 3 assists, 4 turnovers, 2/2 FG (1.000), 1/1 3FG (1.000)

2011 (A): 10 minutes, 5 points, 3 assists, 4 turnovers, 2/2 FG, 1/1 3FG

HAUK PALSSON: 14 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 0/3 FG (.000), 0/1 3FG (.000)

2011 (A): 14 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 0/3 FG, 0/1 3FG

TERRELL STOGLIN: 24 minutes, 3 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 turnovers, 1/10 FG (.100), 0/6 3FG (.000), 1/2 FT (.500)

2011 (A): 24 minutes, 3 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 turnovers, 1/10 FG, 0/6 3FG, 1/2 FT

BEREND WEIJS: 1 minute, 0 points

2011 (A): 1 minute, 0 points

Game 15: Team Close-But-Not-Quite drops another close one

DURHAM, N.C. --- Selection Sunday sits a little more than two months in the distance, the siren for casual college basketball fans and a target for those involved in the sport on a more consistent basis.

There are resumes to be built, great wins to collect between now and then. Maryland, as was the case before its 71-64 loss at top-ranked Duke, still isn't the most accomplished bunch.

But it surely is one of the best Almost Accomplished teams in the country.

There really is no other way to slice up the Terrapins (10-5, 0-2 ACC) after they became only the third team to play Duke to single digits this season (Marquette and Michigan State are the others). There is nothing to be gleaned from analyzing and dissecting and comparing Maryland's set of victories against others, at least not yet.

They've lost to 15-0 Duke and 15-1 Pittsburgh and 13-3 Illinois and 11-3 Temple and 12-4 Boston College. The combined margin of defeat is a mere 27 points, none by double digits.

"Our guys are coming," coach Gary Williams said. "We're getting better. We're better now than we were in November. That's the key for us the rest of the way. This is a tough one out of the way. Even though we didn't get the win, I think this game can give us some positives for the rest of the year.

Maryland is virtually at the midpoint of its regular season --- 16 games remain between now and the start of the ACC tournament --- and its feats seem easy to peg. It is Team Close-But-Not-Quite, a tag players are completely aware of and determined to shed at the earliest convenience.

That nearly happened Sunday at cozy Cameron Indoor Stadium, a place Maryland absorbed drubbings of 41 and 21 points the last two years.

Both teams were destined to land in the NCAA tournament, though no one would have fathomed such an outcome in 2009. The senior-laden bunch of the next season --- led by Greivis Vasquez, who sat behind the Maryland bench Sunday with a "2010 ACC regular season champions" shirt on --- simply shrugged off the loss in Cameron and swatted the Blue Devils on their return trip to College Park.

Mike Krzyzewski's team hasn't lost since, though its winning streak (now at 25) was surely in peril when the Terps bolted to a 38-32 lead just after halftime. Maryland couldn't sustain an advantage, even as it authored its best defensive performance of the season.

Nolan Smith worked tirelessly for all of his 18 points, though his game is so well-developed he simply added eight assists and seven rebounds. The Brothers Plumlee were offensive nonfactors. Ditto Ryan Kelly. Maryland held Andre Dawkins in check until a crucial 3-pointer in the game's latter stages. The Terps swatted eight shots and disrupted enough passes with slick interior defense.

And yet ... close but not quite.

"It's real frustrating," forward Jordan Williams said. "We keep playing these top teams close and we have to get over that hump and start beating them."

Williams did his part, collecting 23 points and 13 rebounds and generally exposing the one thing Duke does not have --- the bruising interior player who can counteract the brawny sophomore. But bully for the Blue Devils: There aren't many players of Williams' ilk floating around college basketball, particularly in the ACC.

There's no fixing that modest issue (though Duke didn't effectively channel Brian Zoubek until mid-February last season, so maybe that isn't a problem), and the Blue Devils will certainly shoot better than 6-for-21 from 3-point territory on most nights. Some of that was Maryland's defense, some Duke's perimeter options struggling. Even still, both Dawkins and Kyle Singler made critical 3-pointers in the final six minutes.

Close again. And yet ...

"We came up close and lost," guard Cliff Tucker said. "We have to figure out how to get past these close games. This team is the No. 1 team in the country. They haven't lost at home in a while. We can take a lot of positives from this game for the next game and the rest of the ACC season."

The players, like anyone else, couldn't help but leave Cameron with slightly mixed feelings. The loss stunk. The repeated script stunk.

But it was progress, even if the record and the resume don't reflect it.

"We played a lot better today," Tucker said. "This is probably the best we played at Duke since I've been at Maryland. I'm real positive and we're going to stay positive and hopefully come up and get a great win against Wake Forest."

Needless to say, there would be no warm and fuzzy feelings if the Terps fell to 0-3 in the league. Understatement alert: Wake Forest is no Duke. In reality, no one else in the ACC (and maybe the country) is Duke. No one else has two players and a coach quite so accomplished as Smith and Singler and Krzyzewski.

Sunday was the toughest test Maryland would face all season, the nation's No. 1 team on its virtually impossible home floor. It stood within a basket with six minutes to play, before Duke does what it does and asphyxiated yet another opponent once the lead stretched to three possessions.

"I was proud of my team tonight," Williams said. "We came in with the intensity level necessary to compete against Duke here, and we did some good things with our offense. The best thing we did there early when we weren't making any shots is we hung in there. Our defense was good enough to keep us there until we started to make some shots. I thought we played pretty well for quite a few periods in the game."

Indeed it did. His team came close, just like it has before. It was visibly better and more capable than a month ago against Boston College, nearly two months ago against Pittsburgh.

For now, that's arguably enough. Not for much longer; Selection Sunday still looms, naturally. For Team Close-But-Not-Quite, it remains an identity until something more permanent (better or worse) eventually emerges.

Game day shootaround: Maryland at Duke

Five facets of Maryland's trip to No. 1 Duke to keep an eye on tonight (8 p.m., Fox Sports Net) ...

1. Starting 'em up

Maryland used the same starting lineup for all but three games last season. The Terps have used three different lineups over the last four games, and coach Gary Williams predictably didn't entirely tip his hand on whether Terrell Stoglin, Pe'Shon Howard or Cliff Tucker will start against the Blue Devils.

Nonetheless, Stoglin had 12 points in his first career start Tuesday against Colgate, and there's a common-sense element that suggests Cameron Indoor Stadium is not the place to work out those sorts of nerves. Maryland needs a scoring punch, and no one is more efficient at providing that from the perimeter than the freshman from Arizona.

Prediction: Maryland will start Stoglin along with the four guys who have received the nod for each game this season.

2. Doubling the fun

Maryland forward Jordan Williams continues to crank out double-doubles; he has eight in a row and 12 in 14 games this season. Duke, meanwhile, has yielded only one double-double this season --- the 11-point, 15-rebound outing UAB's Cameron Moore produced on Wednesday.

Williams is the variable that makes this matchup curious, and at least a bit dangerous for the Blue Devils. The sophomore is a known quantity who already ranks among the nation's most consistent big men. Maryland at least has a chance to hold the edge in the paint --- a priority against the Blue Devils.

Prediction: Williams does his usual thing and winds up with 17 points and 11 rebounds despite Duke's best attempts to get him into foul trouble.

3. Mr. Smith continues his player of the year push

The idea of peaking too early always seems kind of silly; it's never terrible to play great at any extended stretch. And "great" probably doesn't accurately convey how superbly Smith is playing. The senior is averaging 26.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists over his last five games.

That's not ACC player of the year stuff. That's national player of the year stuff. And, as Gary Williams observed, Smith has demonstrated opponents have little choice but to help on him at the risk of leaving the likes of Andre Dawkins and Seth Curry open on the perimeter. It's a dangerous game of pick-your-poison, and Maryland is the latest forced to play it.

Prediction: Maryland does an admirable job of keeping Smith somewhere around 20 points, but those kickouts to Dawkins, Curry and others prove to be the Terps' undoing.

4. Deep thoughts

So, what exactly is Maryland's rotation? Does it include James Padgett? Or Berend Weijs? Or Haukur Palsson?

Logically, the answer to all three is yes. Padgett and Weijs have played in every game, Palsson in all but one. They are, in some order or another, the eighth, ninth and 10th players in the rotation based on minutes played. Of course, a 10-man rotation is anything but the norm for Maryland (or most teams, really).

Weijs could be well-suited for this game; his ability to run the floor will help immensely, even against the thicker Plumlee brothers and Ryan Kelly. Palsson, at 6-foot-6, could have some matchup issues depending on how big Duke opts to play. In any case, it will be curious to see how the Terps figure out their rotation.

Prediction: All three guys play, with Padgett just beating Weijs in as the first frontcourt sub.

5. Duke stays unbeaten

Mike Krzyzewski has lost twice at Cameron with a top-ranked team --- and won 76 times. That's a ridiculous figure on a number of levels, and even though those games don't matter, Duke's abundance of talent does.

Maryland's recent trips to Cameron have not gone particularly well, and the Terps yet again get Duke on the road before facing the Blue Devils at home. That's not a terrible situation; better for Maryland to face Duke while students are on campus. But the Terps tend to take a little time to fully come together, and they'll be far better suited to handle the Blue Devils on Feb. 2 than tonight.

Prediction: This won't be the 41-point debacle it was two years ago, but something similar to last year's margin of 21 isn't completely unreasonable. Maryland should play well in bursts and even keep it close for a while. But this could be the sort of night Duke gets the margin to about a dozen, keeps it there for much of the second half and then sucks the life out of an opponent in the final five or six minutes. It's not an uncommon occurrence, and will probably happen many more times over the years. Maryland is a threat to knock off Duke this year, but it's much more likely to occur next month in front of the Terps' crowd.

Maryland seeking to snap another long Duke winning streak

Rather than analyze where Maryland is as a basketball team in early January entering its date with No. 1 Duke, it seems like a good time to think about this differently.

Namely, take a wide-angle look at what it would mean to upend a top-ranked Blue Devils team on a long winning streak.

That's happened more than  a few times over the years. Duke has won 24 straight games dating back to March, the 23rd win streak of at least 10 games that Mike Krzyzewski has presided over in Durham.

The sustained run of excellence has left Duke atop the national rankings enough for Krzyzewski to pick up more than 10 percent of his 220 losses with the Blue Devils when his team is ranked No. 1.

Consider: Coach K has 24 losses as the nation's No. 1 team. Among other active coaches, only Roy Williams (54), Jim Calhoun (29), John Calipari (21), Bill Self (17), Mike Montgomery (16), Bob Huggins (15) and Bruce Weber (15) have even spent a dozen weeks at No. 1 in their careers.

Two of those losses at No. 1 have come to a Maryland team coached by Gary Williams. Only Dean Smith (3), Bill Guthridge (2) and Dave Odom (2) have as many.

Then there's the long Duke winning streaks. The Blue Devils are in the midst of their second-longest winning streak under Krzyzewski, eight shy of his best run (one that took up December, January, February and nearly all of March in the 1998-99 season). Williams was the coach who helped put an end to four of the previous winning streaks of 10 or more; only Smith (four) and Dino Gaudio (two) also have ended more than one.

Coach K's march toward Bob Knight's career victories record (and his work with the U.S. national team) has created new ways to appreciate the totality of his work. The next two charts do the same even while examining losses; with college basketball the way it is today, even having the opportunity to lose two dozen times as the nation's No. 1 team (and triumph much more than that) and uncorking nearly as many winning streaks of 10 games is a remarkable and almost incomprehensible feat.

DUKE'S LOSSES AT No. 1 UNDER KRZYZEWSKI

BY TEAM

6: North Carolina

3: Wake Forest

2: Florida State
2: Maryland

1: Cincinnati
1: Connecticut
1: Florida
1: Georgetown
1: Georgia Tech
1: Indiana
1: Louisiana State
1: Louisville
1: Michigan
1: N.C. State
1: Stanford

March 31, 1986: vs. Louisville (72-69) in NCAA final
Jan. 18, 1989: North Carolina (91-71)
Jan. 21, 1989: at Wake Forest (75-71)

Feb. 5, 1992: at North Carolina (75-73)
Feb. 23, 1992: at Wake Forest (72-68)
Jan. 10, 1993: at Georgia Tech (80-79)
Feb. 3, 1994: at North Carolina (89-78)
Dec. 13, 1997: at Michigan (81-73)
Feb. 5, 1998: at North Carolina (97-73)
March 8, 1998: vs. North Carolina (83-68) in ACC final
Nov. 28, 1998: vs. Cincinnati (77-75) in Great Alaska Shootout
March 29, 1999: vs. Connecticut (77-74) in NCAA final

March 24, 2000: vs. Florida (87-78) in NCAA regional semifinals
Dec. 21, 2000: vs. Stanford (84-83) in Oakland, Calif.
Jan. 6, 2002: at Florida State (77-76)
Feb. 17, 2002: at Maryland (87-73)
March 21, 2002: vs. Indiana (74-73) in NCAA regional semifinals
Jan. 18, 2003: at Maryland (87-72)
Feb. 15, 2004: at N.C. State (78-74)
Jan. 21, 2006: at Georgetown (87-84)
March 1, 2006: at Florida State (79-74)
March 4, 2006: North Carolina (83-76)
March 23, 2005: vs. Louisiana State (62-54) in NCAA regional semifinals
Jan. 28, 2009: at Wake Forest (70-68)

DUKE'S LOSSES TO END DOUBLE-DIGIT WIN STREAKS UNDER KRZYZEWSKI

BY OPPONENT

5: Maryland
5: North Carolina

3: Wake Forest

2: Florida State

1: Connecticut
1: Georgetown
1: Georgia Tech
1: Louisville
1: N.C. State
1: Pittsburgh
1: Stanford

32: March 29, 1999 (Connecticut 77-74) --- NCAA final

23: Jan. 10, 1993 (Georgia Tech 80-79)

22: Jan. 6, 2002 (Florida State 77-76)

21: March 31, 1986 (Louisville 72-69) --- NCAA final

18: Feb. 9, 2000 (Maryland 98-87)
18: Feb. 15, 2004 (N.C. State 78-74)

17: Feb. 5, 1992 (North Carolina 75-73)
17: Jan. 21, 2006 (Georgetown 87-84)

16: Jan. 18, 1986 (North Carolina 95-92)

15: Jan. 26, 2005 (Maryland 75-66)

13: Jan. 18, 1989 (North Carolina 91-71)

12: Jan. 14, 1985 (Maryland 78-76)
12: Jan. 18, 2003 (Maryland 87-72)
12: Feb. 17, 2008 (Wake Forest 86-73)

11: Feb. 5, 1999 (North Carolina 97-73)
11: Feb. 17, 2002 (Maryland 87-73)

10: Jan. 10, 1987 (North Carolina 85-77)
10: Jan. 13, 1994 (Wake Forest 69-68)
10: Dec. 21, 2000 (Stanford 84-83)
10: March 1, 2006 (Florida State 79-74)
10: Dec. 20, 2007 (Pittsburgh 65-64)
10: Jan. 28, 2009 (Wake Forest 70-68)

Maryland special teams notes --- Duke

Items from the notebook on the personnel Maryland used on its special teams units in Saturday's 21-16 defeat of Duke.

KICKOFF RETURN

12-51-45-29-88-83

(Kevin Dorsey, Ryan Donohue, Nick Peterson, Austin Walker, Will Yeatman, Emani Lee-Odai)

40-32-89

(Matt Robinson, Haroon Brown, Matt Furstenburg)

20

(Gary Douglas)

82

(Torrey Smith)

Maryland switched up its formation for this game, going with a group of three in front of Douglas rather than two pairs in front of Smith. Look for more on this on the blog tomorrow. There was a turnover of four players from the Florida International game to the defeat of Duke.

KICKOFF

The alignment for Maryland's first kickoff:

13-3-45-40-29-43-12-52-24-51-21

(Kerry Boykins, LaQuan Williams, Nick Peterson, Matt Robinson, Austin Walker, Nick Ferrara, Kevin Dorsey, Darin Drakeford, Avery Graham, Ryan Donohue, Trenton Hughes)

Drakeford returned from injury this week, replacing David Mackall (concussion) on this unit.

PUNT

Punter: Travis Baltz (35)
Snapper: Tim Downs (92)

Blockers: 1-3-9-12-21-24-29-51-52

Adrian Moten, LaQuan Williams, Demetrius Hartsfield, Kevin Dorsey, Trenton Hughes, Avery Graham, Austin Walker, Ryan Donohue, Darin Drakeford

This unit varies a bit, even inside of a game.That list is more of a composite based on notes from several punts than a concrete evaluation of 11 guys on the field each time out.

PUNT RETURN

On the field for Tony Logan's 84-yard return:

RETURNER: Tony Logan (85)
GUNNERS: Kerry Boykins (13) and Quintin McCree (17)

BLOCKERS: 3-12-24-29-40-44-45-83

LaQuan Williams, Kevin Dorsey, Avery Graham, Austin Walker, Matt Robinson, Derek Drummond, Nick Peterson, Emani Lee-Odai

Yet again, six receivers were on the field for a punt returned for a score.

FIELD GOAL

KICKER: Travis Baltz (35)
HOLDER: Ted Townsley (37)
SNAPPER: Tim Downs (92)

BLOCKERS: 63-67-74-78-81-88-89-96

Bennett Fulper, Pete White, Nick Klemm, Justin Lewis, Ryan Schlothauer, Will Yeatman, Matt Furstenburg, A.J. Francis

Looks like White might be taking over a spot here for Gonnella. Noticed R.J. Dill and not Lewis a week earlier on this unit. Otherwise, no changes.

FIELD GOAL BLOCK

This group was on the field for Will Snyderwine's first field goal attempt of the game:

2-6-9-15-21-22-33-52-56-72-96

Antwine Perez, Kenny Tate, Demetrius Hartsfield, Drew Gloster, Trenton Hughes, Cameron Chism, Alex Wujciak, Darin Drakeford, Isaiah Ross, Joe Vellano, A.J. Francis

This came just after Adrian Moten's ankle injury, which explains why Drakeford would be in. Otherwise, no changes from a week earlier.

Maryland stats wrap: Duke

Breaking down the numbers from Maryland's last game before the bye.

An addition to the stats wrap this week is fourth-down conversions for both rushing and passing offense/defense based on down and distance. Seemed like a smart add since it exists for third down.

Onto the numbers ...

TOUCHES (RUNS + CATCHES)

Player	DU	Season
Da'Rel Scott	19	62
Davin Meggett	15	48
Torrey Smith	2	17
D.J. Adams	1	13
Adrian Cannon	4	10
Ronnie Tyler	1	6
Matt Furstenburg	---	4
Quintin McCree	---	4
Dave Stinebaugh	1	4
Mike Salvatico	DNP	3
Kerry Boykins	---	2
Gary Douglas	---	2
Tony Logan	---	2
LaQuan Williams	---	2
Kevin Dorsey	---	1

Reviewing the Duke game day predictions

Before breaking everything down, let's see how this worked out today:

1. Danny O'Brien will start, but both he and Jamarr Robinson will play.

INCORRECT. Robinson didn't play, as O'Brien went the distance for the second straight week.

2. Da'Rel Scott will become the 10th player in Maryland history to crack the 2,000-yard rushing plateau.

INCORRECT. Scott had 121 total yards, but just 50 on the ground (on 3.6 yards per carry). He needs 48 yards to get to 2,000 for his career, and that will have to wait until at least Oct. 16.

3. Tony Logan will move into the top five in school history in punt return yardage.

CORRECT. Logan had two returns for 88 yards (including an 84-yarder for a touchdown) and now has 564 yards for his career. That's fifth on the Maryland career list, and just 13 yards shy of Guilian Gary.

4. For a change, Maryland won't have two double-digit tacklers.

CORRECT. There were actually none. Kenny Tate had nine, while Alex Wujciak has eight.

5. Duke's defense will have a better-than-average day--- but it won't be enough.

CORRECT. Duke indeed fared better, allowing 21 points after coming in giving up 44.5 points a game. Still, the Terrapins escaped with a 21-16 victory. And, yes, escape is an appropriate word.

Duke: 3-for-5
Season: 14.5-for-25