Duke Is Far From Perfect

Maryland Coach Gary Williams brought in a few experts before facing No. 2 Duke at Durham, N.C.

Former Terrapins Steve Blake, Juan Dixon and Laron Profit visited practice this week. They talked about having fun, about believing in themselves and about giving a full effort against the Blue Devils.

“That was huge,” forward Nik Caner-Medley said. “That was the hardest we practiced all year.”

Caner-Medley and his teammates carried that message to the game, giving Maryland an improbable upset.

The junior had 25 points before leaving because of an ankle injury, and Travis Garrison and Ekene Ibekwe finished off the Blue Devils at the free-throw line in a 75-66 victory Wednesday night.

The Terrapins (12-5 overall, 3-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) lost three of their previous five games, all by at least 15 points. But they hung with Duke (15-1, 5-1) throughout and gave up only two points in the final 3 1/2 minutes.

“I just thought they played a little bit harder than we did,” Blue Devil Coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

J.J. Redick led the Blue Devils with 20 points.

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No. 12 Louisville 99, Marquette 52 -- Larry O’Bannon had 30 points as the Cardinals (17-3 overall, 5-1 in Conference USA) routed the Golden Eagles (14-5, 2-4) at Louisville, Ky.

No. 14 Alabama 60, Auburn 55 -- Earnest Shelton scored 22 points as the Crimson Tide (16-3 overall, 5-1 in the Southeastern Conference) held off the Tigers (9-9, 0-5) at Auburn, Ala.

Northwestern 75, No. 23 Iowa 74 -- Michael Jenkins’ three-point basket at the overtime buzzer gave the Wildcats (9-9 overall, 2-4 in the Big Ten) a victory over the Hawkeyes (14-5, 2-4) at Evanston, Ill.

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OTHER GAMES

Tony Stockman had 17 points to lead Ohio State (13-7 overall, 2-4 in the Big Ten) to a 68-62 victory over Penn State (7-12, 1-5) at Columbus, Ohio. The Nittany Lions have lost 27 conference road games in a row.... Ed McCants scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half to lead Wisconsin Milwaukee (15-4) to a 73-68 victory over Purdue (4-13) at West Lafayette, Ind.... Jeff Hagen had 15 points and eight rebounds to lead Minnesota (14-5 overall, 4-2 in the Big Ten) to a 70-65 victory over Indiana (9-8, 4-2) at Minneapolis.

Renaldo Balkman scored 15 points as South Carolina (11-6 overall, 3-3 in the Southeastern Conference) rallied for a 68-63 victory over Vanderbilt (11-8, 2-4) at Columbia, S.C.... Robert Hite scored 21 to lead Miami (13-5 overall, 4-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) to a 69-65 victory over Clemson (10-9, 1-6) at Coral Gables, Fla.... Von Wafer scored 23 points and Florida State (11-9 overall, 3-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) ended a 26-game conference road losing streak with a 70-64 victory over North Carolina State (12-7, 2-4) at Raleigh, N.C.

Jeremiah Massey scored 23 points to lead Kansas State (12-4 overall, 2-3 in the Big 12) to a 63-51 victory over Iowa State (8-8, 0-5) at Manhattan, Kan.... Richard Roby made a three-point basket with 21 seconds left to lift Colorado (10-7 overall, 2-4 in the Big 12) to a 64-62 victory over Missouri (10-9, 2-4) at Boulder, Colo.... Jake Muhleisen scored 25 points and Nebraska (9-7 overall, 3-3 in the Big 12) held on for a 77-67 victory over Texas A&M; (13-4, 2-4) at Lincoln, Neb.

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Crazy at Cameron

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Duke has managed a 121-8 record on its home court since the beginning of the 1996-97 season, but Maryland has been one of the few teams to break through at Cameron Indoor Stadium, dealing the Blue Devils three of those losses. The Terps’ victories:

Feb. 9, 2000 Maryland 98, Duke 87

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Feb. 27, 2001 Maryland 91, Duke 80

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Jan. 26, 2005 Maryland 75, Duke 66