Terps, as always, a challenge for Duke

At the time, it was the furthest thing from Duke's players' minds.
They were reminded Wednesday night after defeating Alabama-Birmingham that the last team to defeat them was Maryland, which visits Cameron Indoor Stadium at 8 p.m. Sunday. The Terrapins downed Duke 79-72 on March 3 to help secure a share of first place in the final ACC standings last season.
"I never thought of that," senior forward Kyle Singler said Wednesday.
"We don't remember any of our losses from last year since at the end, we got the ultimate prize," said senior guard Nolan Smith. "Any loss before that has been out my head, but now that you mention it, now I do remember. That'll be in the back of my mind that they were the last team to beat us, they stormed the court on us."
After that loss to Maryland, the Blue Devils won 10 in a row to capture the ACC tournament and NCAA tournament titles. They have opened this season with 14 straight wins. Their 24-game streak spanning two seasons is the second longest in school history, trailing only the 32-game streak from Dec. 2, 1998 to March 27, 1999.
But Maryland and coach Gary Williams have been one of the more successful programs against Duke in recent years, with eight wins in 20 games since 2002. Smith, who's from the Washington, D.C., area, knows what kind of challenge the Terrapins will bring.

"Coach Williams always gets his team ready to play us," he said.

Ken Tysiac