The Maryland Terrapins have only one option if they want to keep their season alive. They must upset No. 2 seed Duke in the quarterfinals of the 2011 ACC Tournament Friday night. The two teams will do battle at 7 p.m., with a berth in the tournament semifinals on the line.
Maryland is looking for its 20th win of the season, but even if they win, they will likely still miss the NCAA Tournament because of a lack of quality wins. They advanced to this point by defeating N.C. State on Thursday in the first round. That said, a win over Duke would go a long way toward possibly getting the Terps in the conversation, especially after fellow ACC bubble team Boston College was blown out by Clemson earlier in the day. A loss almost certainly cements an NIT berth.
The Terps have lost twice to the Blue Devils this season, falling in a tight one at Cameron Indoor Stadium in January and in a blowout in College Park a few weeks later, but they are also 7-9 against Duke in the ACC Tournament under Gary Williams, so maybe something will give.