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On an emotional night in which Maryland dedicated Gary Williams Court, the Terps ran out of gas on the offensive end to fall to rival Duke by 13 points.
With a pregame dedication of Gary Williams court on an emotional night in College Park, the Maryland Terrapins simply ran out of gas to fall 74-61 to the Duke Blue Devils. After an up-and-down first half, Maryland struggled to get much going on the offensive end in the second. The Terps had a four-plus minute scoreless streak down the stretch, as the Blue Devils pulled away.
Terrell Stoglin led the Terps with 16 points but the typically solid free-throw shooter was just two of seven from the charity stripe. No other Maryland players were in double figures. The Terp guards had success penetrating in the first half with Stoglin, Pe'Shon Howard, and Sean Mosley creating offense in the lane. The Blue Devils completely shut that off over the final twenty minutes.
Mason Plumlee was dominant on the inside for Duke. He did everything for the Blue Devils on both ends of the floor, scoring a game-high 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The Terps simply had no answer up front.
Maryland is now 2-3 in the ACC. They will look to rebound on Saturday afternoon when they host the Virginia Tech Hokies.
For more on the Terps, please head over to Testudo Times, and for more on this and every college basketball game, check out the SB Nation college basketball hub.
The ceremony at Comcast Center to name the court after former Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams was not televised anywhere. ESPN had a game happening beforehand. Comcast SportsNet was broadcasting the game between the Washington Wizards and Charlotte Bobcats. ESPN3 went live 30 minutes before the game against Duke began, but an ESPN spokesperson told us that the ceremony would not be televised.
So really, the only people who could see it live were in the building. That's a shame. It was an incredibly special night for Maryland fans everywhere, and those that weren't at the game should have been able to see it somehow. In case you're one of those people (as I am), here's the video below the jump.
The Duke Blue Devils have a 37-34 lead over the Maryland Terrapins after one half in College Park. In front of a jam-packed and rowdy Comcast Center crowd, the Terps came out with intensity on both ends of the floor to match the top-ten ranked Blue Devils. Mark Turgeon's team has had success getting into the lane, scoring a majority of their points off guard penetration. Pe'Shon Howard, Terrell Stoglin, and Sean Mosley have all been able to beat Duke's guards off the dribble to set up the offense. Mosley has six points, while Howard has five. The Terps senior leader took a charge on Austin Rivers and then created an layup for James Padgett on the other end to cut Duke's lead to three at the half.
Mason Plumlee has had his way on the interior thus far, getting easy buckets and getting to the free-throw line where he's been shooting better of late. He has a game-high 12 points, while grabbing five boards. Ryan Kelly also shot the ball well early, adding 7 points off the bench.
Maryland will try to carry over the emotion of the Gary Williams floor dedication in front of a lively crowd looking for the upset.
For more on the Terps, please head over to Testudo Times, and for more on this and every college basketball game, check out the SB Nation college basketball hub.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Many fans call the Comcast Center the "House that Gary Built." On Wednesday, before a game against rival Duke, Gary Williams saw his name painted on to the court, cementing his future legacy as a Hall of Fame coach of the Maryland Terrapins.
The ceremony to honor Williams featured Terps luminaries in the crowd like Juan Dixon and Walt Williams, along with current Maryland administrators and athletic director Kevin Anderson. The roar of the crowd reached its apex when Gary Williams emerged from the tunnel and walked to the court.
As his customary practice, Williams shot up a triumphant, proud fist into the air. The packed Comcast Center responded with reckless cheer. The tone for the night was set.
Speaking to reporters after the brief on-court ceremony, Williams said he gave his fist pump a "B+" acknowledging that he was slightly out of practice. For the crowd, huddled into a rocking Comcast Center, the fist was more than an A+. it was the culmination of the House that Gary Built.
We'll have plenty more on this game throughout the day, so keep it locked to the Duke Vs. Maryland StoryStream. For more on the Terps, please head over to Testudo Times, and for more on this and every college basketball game, check out the SB Nation college basketball hub.
It's likely the biggest night of the season in College Park, as the rival Duke Blue Devils come calling for their annual visit to the Comcast Center. Mike Krzyzewksi's club will be without a couple players, however, as both Quinn Cook and Michael Gbinijie did not travel with the team and remained in Durham because of illness. Cook, along with Tyler Thornton, is a local product who played at DeMatha before transferring to Oak Hill.
Duke announced that freshman guard Quinn Cook and freshman forward Michael Gbinije are sick and remained in Durham for Maryland game tonight
— ACC Now (@accnow) January 26, 2012
It has to be disappointing to miss out as he had to be looking forward to coming home and playing in front of friends and family. But Duke's loss is Maryland's gain, with Cook averaging more than 12 minutes and five points per game at the point guard spot. Gbinijie averages a little more than eight minutes a game.
We'll have plenty more on this game throughout the day, so keep it locked to the Duke Vs. Maryland StoryStream. For more on the Terps, please head over to Testudo Times, and for more on this and every college basketball game, check out the SB Nation college basketball hub.
This is a photo taken by CSN Washington's Chick Hernandez at 4:30 p.m. Gary Williams' court-naming ceremony is expected to begin at 8:45 p.m. Yup.
This is really cool. Hopefully all the students cooperate and wear the right T-shirts.
(via @testudotimes).
The Maryland Terrapins face a stern test on Wednesday when they take on No. 8 Duke at Comcast Center on Wednesday night. It promises to be an emotional scene, since the Terps will hold a ceremony to name the floor after former coach Gary Williams, but the game itself is a big one too. The Blue Devils are coming off a home loss to Florida State at the buzzer, while the Terps need a win because the ACC schedule only gets tougher from here.
Here is everything you need to know about the game.
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, January 25, 9 p.m.
Location: Comcast Center, Gary Wiliams Court, College Park, Md.
TV Schedule: ESPN
Radio Schedule: ESPN 980
We'll have plenty more on this game throughout the day, so keep it locked to the Duke Vs. Maryland StoryStream. For more on the Terps, please head over to Testudo Times, and for more on this and every college basketball game, check out the SB Nation college basketball hub.
Given all Gary Williams did to rescue the Maryland basketball program and lead it to a national title nine years ago, you'd think the decision to name the Comcast Center court after him would be an easy one. Instead, as Jeff Barker of the Baltimore Sun reports, it was anything but.
Why? Lots of reasons, but mostly, Lefty Driesell. The former Terps coach is pretty mad that he's not getting the recognition he feels he deserves for building up the program in the first place.
In any given year, the home game against Duke is the biggest game of the year for the Maryland Terrapins. Add in the fact that the Terps will be naming their court after and honoring legendary coach Gary Williams, and this is a must see game for Terps past and present. Te game starts at 9 and can be seen on ESPN, but I would recommend trying to tune in earlier in case the network shows the court-naming ceremony.
Once we get past that ceremony, which figures to be pretty emotional, the Terps will face a pretty tough test against the Blue Devils. For more on that matchup, and Duke's beatability, here is our Maryland blog Testudo Times.
Duke is as bad as they've been in years, sure, but that's still not all that bad. They enter the game 16-3 with wins over Kansas and Michigan State. Of course, they also got pounded by Ohio State, lost to Temple in Philly, only beat Virginia by 3 in Cameron, and did just lose to Florida State. All of those teams are much better than Maryland, but it should be an indication that, no, they're not unbeatable.
Hopefully the honoring of Gary Williams gives these guys an emotional charge and leads to a win over Duke. I'm sure it will be nice to see his name on the Court, but a win is what Gary wants most, I'm sure.
We'll have plenty more on this game throughout the day, so keep it locked to this StoryStream. For more on the Terps, please head over to the aforementioned Testudo Times. And for more on this and every College basketball game, check out the SB Nation college basketball hub.
Wednesday is a special day for the Maryland basketball program. Not only do they have a date with rival Duke at Comcast Center, but they will also hold a public ceremony to name the court after legendary former coach Gary Williams. It's going to be a crazy atmosphere.
With all this happening, Under Armour, the unofficial sponsor of Maryland athletics, has gotten involved. The Terps players will wear these special commemorative shoes when they take on the Blue Devils.
The Comcast Center court will be renamed "Gary Williams Court" on Wednesday when the Maryland basketball team takes on Duke, but a handful of selected people got a chance to see the court in a smaller ceremony on Monday. Bonnie Bernstein tweeted out most of the relevant anecdotes from the event, but you're here to see photos, not text.
Luckily, CSN Washington's Joe Yasharoff and @EmmyTerp came through with the following pictures below the jump.
Lefty Driesell On Gary Williams Court Ceremony: 'It Hurts My Players. It Hurts My Feelings'
by Mike Prada
Former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell made headlines earlier in the week when he made comments objecting to the school's decision to rename the Comcast Center court after Gary Williams. At the time, Driesell said he felt such a move was unfair to his players.
This obviously merited some follow-up work, which happened on Friday afternoon when Driesell joined Kevin Sheehan and Thom Loverro on ESPN 980. In the interview, Driesell mostly reiterated his earlier concerns. He said he was "disappointed" instead of "upset" and consistently said he had "nothing against Gary" and that he "likes Gary," but added that he felt it wasn't right for anyone's name to be on the court.
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Jan 27 2:11p