Duke Game Survival Guide and Game Thread
The fact that the mid-week game against UVA was postponed this week has only added to the anticipation for tip off at Cameron tomorrow. It’s hard not to get carried away.
The Terps have been cruising and Duke looks vulnerable (aka frighteningly unathletic); but we need to be realistic. Here are six tips to get you through the game:
1. Expect a loss and be thrilled with a win
2. Expect one of our starters to pick up two fouls before the first TV timeout. Officials just can’t handle the pressure of calling a fair game at Cameron. They let the crowd dictate their decision making.
3. Duke will shoot the three ball well. They are at home. Don’t expect any different. The Terps need to turn their shooters into drivers and force the likes of Mason Plumlee and Greg Zoubek to beat them.
4. Terps won’t win with out a balanced attack. It can’t just be Milbourne and Vasquez in double digits. Hayes will need to give us 2 to 4 threes and we need to pound it inside to J-Dub. Gary will figure out a way to get the entire starting team involved.
5. Expect the broadcasters to gush about how great the Duke fans are. If this happens go to the mute button, unless you want to hear about how “smart” they are and how they represent what’s great about college basketball.
6. Remember, this game is gravy. We don’t need to win. A loss here and then a sweep of the three games next week and the Terps are sitting pretty at 9-3. If we win though, wow. That would just be incredible.
I would never predict a loss on this site, especially against Duke; but I’m not predicting a win tomorrow either. The Terps are better than the Blue Devils. I truly believe that. There’s just an awful lot working against them when they go down to Durham. The only thing that is for sure that I am really tired of waiting for tipoff.
Get it done, Terps. Get it done.
