DURHAM, N.C. — Of course it would end this way, nearly 90 years of bitterness compacted into one evening. If the Maryland-Duke rivalry is indeed to be no more, if history and tradition are to be shed during the mad scramble of conference realignment, then what a way to go out.
Terrapins sophomore forward Charles Mitchell’s hook shot bounced once, twice, three times around the rim and then rattled away with less than two seconds left, and the Blue Devils took a 69-67 win on Saturday in the final regular season game between the two ACC rivals. Mitchell lay flat on his back following the shot, clutching his face. Nearby, teammates squatted on the floor at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon went from leaping in hope to collapsing in heartbreak.
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As the Duke Blue Devils and Maryland Terrapins prepare for their last ever, regular season men's basketball game as ACC foes, former players and coaches revisit the two seasons that defined a heated rivalry.
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“It’s going to be a tough challenge. We understand that. It always is when you play down there,” Mark Turgeon says.
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The Terrapins will head home still searching for a defining victory in a confounding season, but in the moment none of that mattered, for Saturday night was all about history. From the moment the doors opened, an hour and a half before tip-off, and the Cameron Crazies began flooding into this claustrophobic cathedral, Maryland was shelled by reminders of what will soon be no more. Before the game began, chants of “bot our rivals” and “A-C-C” rang out. Three students painted their bare chests to spell out “B-Y-E.” The Blue Devils mascot wore athletic tape stuck to his forehead, on it written the years Maryland spent as ACC foes — 1953 to 2014 — next to the words, “So long Terps.”
Wearing new Under Armour uniforms emblazoned with dates and words to commemorate the past it will soon leave behind, Maryland arrived here carrying not only the burden of its disappointing season but the weight of an entire fan base hoping to end this fierce rivalry on a winning note. After all, Duke held a 50-game advantage since the matchup began before the Great Depression. Though the Terps took two of three last season, Saturday’s game was different. This was at Cameron Indoor Stadium, not Comcast Center or a neutral site. And Duke had Jabari Parker.
The freshman phenomenon, certain to be selected among the top picks in June’s NBA draft should he choose to declare, created an immediate matchup nightmare from which Maryland (14-12, 6-7) seemingly couldn’t wake up. By halftime, when Duke led 39-33, he had scored 14 points, eight more than any other teammate, and finished with a game-high 23 points.
The intensity was apparent from the opening tip. Loose ball scrums needed separation by the officials. The fouls were hard and plentiful. At one point during the first half, Turgeon and his Duke counterpart, Mike Krzyzewski, glowered and barked at each other from opposite benches, to such a degree that it required intervention from the referees.
That the Terps jogged into the visitors’ locker room down six points at halftime was, in itself, a small miracle. The hosts quickly leapt to an 8-2 lead and gradually expanded it to 24-14. When foul trouble sent Maryland guard Dez Wells (17 points, all in the second half) and Mitchell (12 points) to the bench, the scoring load was dumped onto Jake Layman, who kept up with Parker’s torrid pace by scoring 12 at intermission.
Then Wells began conjuring flashbacks to a more recent memory, when coast-to-coast layups became the norm during his 30-point takeover during Maryland’s ACC quarterfinals upset of Duke last season. A 12-0 run in the second half, featuring a healthy dose of Wells, gave the Terps their first lead of the evening, at 54-52.
From there, it all made so much sense, the teams trading blows like prizefighters, no matter that Duke (20-5, 9-3) was ranked eighth and Maryland had barely made a blip on the national radar. It was tied at 62-62, then again at 64-64. Then Wells hit a three-pointer to give his team a 67-66 lead. Then free throws from Rodney Hood and a thunderous Parker dunk regained the lead for the Blue Devils.
And in that moment, everything that came before Saturday night, all 176 of those intensely fought games, was left behind. All those players, those legendary coaches, those matchups replayed on loop, none of that mattered. Here, in perhaps the final matchup between Maryland and Duke in the foreseeable future, was more than enough.
