The Maryland Terrapins are on a roll, having won three straight games, two of which came on the road. The No. 5 Duke Blue Devils are struggling, having lost to St. John's over the weekend by 15 points. Nevertheless, tonight's game looms large for Maryland, as they face perhaps their final chance to secure a "marquee" win.
The Terps are 14-7 and have yet to lose to a truly bad team, but they have failed in every single big test. They dropped two straight tight games to Pittsburgh and Illinois to start the season, lost to Temple and Boston College in December and blew a 12-point second half lead to lose at Villanova. Oh, and they also competed for most of the game against these Blue Devils before fading late back on January 9 in a 71-64 loss. If the Terps do not win this game, it will be very difficult for them to secure the quality wins needed to push back into the tournament picture.
The Blue Devils, on the other hand, need to rebound if they want to stay among the top seeds. As they hit ACC play, they are finally feeling the effects of the injury to superstar point guard Kyrle Irving. They still have two of the league's best players in Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler, but they are not as imposing as they were a month ago.
The game begins at 9 p.m. and will be broadcasted on ESPN. For more, visit Testudo Times.