swiseman@heraldsun.com; 419-6671
DURHAM — Gary Williams may not be coaching Maryland any longer, but that doesn’t mean there’s any less passion for Duke’s visit to the Comcast Center tonight.
In fact, Maryland is making sure Williams is a big part of tonight’s ACC battle (9 p.m., ESPN).
The school will hold a pregame ceremony to name the court at its home arena after Williams, who coached the Terrapins from 1989 until his retirement after the 2010-11 season.
During that time, the Maryland program rose in prominence, reaching the 2001 Final Four before winning its lone national championship in 2002. Along the way, Duke became Maryland’s fiercest rival.
So whenever his team visits College Park, Md., Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski knows the Terrapin fans will be rowdy — with or without Williams returning for a night.
“As far as them being more hostile or emotional, they are all the time,” Krzyzewski said. “I don’t know if that will get them more. They have a great crowd all the time when they are playing us.
“Whether the court was named after him before the game or not, I would expect them to give us their best shot.”
Krzyzewski did say he reached out to Williams privately to congratulate him on his career, which included 668 wins (461 in 22 seasons at his alma mater, Maryland).
“It’s a big night for him,” Krzyzewski said. “That’s the very first thing. I’m happy for him. It’s a great honor to have your school do that, especially him being a graduate of the school.”
Pageantry aside, tonight’s game is important for both Duke and Maryland.
The No. 8-ranked Blue Devils (16-3, 4-1 ACC) are coming off their first home loss in three years, a 76-73 stunner at the hands of Florida State on Saturday. Duke is tied with Florida State and N.C. State for first place in the conference.
Under first-year coach Mark Turgeon, Maryland (12-6, 2-2) enters having lost to Florida State and Temple in the past week.
Duke lost despite holding an eight-point lead over Florida State with 9:50 to play. Michael Snaer’s 3-pointer at the buzzer provided the final margin.
“It’s a learning lesson for us just to keep attacking,” Duke guard Austin Rivers said. “I really feel like our team played great, and they just hit that shot that kind of killed the spirit.”
Maryland has a potent perimeter player in guard Terrell Stoglin, who leads the ACC in scoring at 21.2 points per game. Turgeon said Monday that center Alex Len, who has been slowed by an ankle injury, could be a factor.
“He just hasn’t really got into a flow the last three or four games,” Turgeon said. “We need him on the floor because, defensively, he just gives us a presence around the rim, and he’s a good rebounder for us and he hasn’t given us that the last couple games.
“So it would be nice to get him healthy and get him out there and at least get that out of him. It makes us a better basketball team.”
Duke will seek to keep improving its defense. After getting the key stops necessary to notch league wins over Georgia Tech, Virginia, Clemson and Wake Forest, the Blue Devils saw Florida State shoot 67 percent from the field in the second half on Saturday.
Krzyzewski said there were some good things about the Florida State game, such as Rivers’ aggressiveness in taking the ball to the basket while scoring 19 points. He just wants the good to keep outweighing the bad.
“Teams are always evolving,” Krzyzewski said. “Who you were a week ago isn’t who you are this next week. You just hope you are evolving into a better team.”
