The Maryland Terrapins entered the ACC tournament with plenty of work to do as a bubble team in search of an NCAA Tournament berth, while Duke seemed to be in good position to snare a top seed. Dez Wells had other plans though, scoring 30 in an 83-74 win that bolstered Maryland's cause while possibly knocking Duke off its perch.
Wells sank 9-of-13 shots from the field, was a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, and connected on all 10 of his free throw attempts to lead all scorers with 30 points. He punctuated the win during a run that sealed the game by slapping the floor with both hands, a Duke trademark, after 7'1 teammate Alex Len knocked down a midrange jump shot. After the game Wells addressed his floor slap, saying ''I was trying to energize my guys, and at that moment I was thinking, 'We have to get a stop. Whatever I have to do to get my guys pumped. No shots at Duke or anything like that. I just wanted to get my guys energized.''
Four other Terrapins, Len, Jake Layman, Nick Faust and Seth Allen had 10 points apiece in the win. Maryland outhustled Duke the entire time which was evidence of their urgency. Coach Mike Krzyzewski sensed that the opponents were hungrier than his Blue Devils Friday night. ''One of the things during this time of the year ... is that if you lose, it's final. Our team did not feel that. And now we have to understand that that's the way it is. I mean, if you don't do it, it's done. I don't care what your record was, or whatever. It's over. It's one and done.''
Ryan Kelly, normally a catalyst for Duke's success never found his stroke, scoring just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting while failing to hit any of his six 3-point attempts. Mason Plumlee led Duke with 19 points and seven rebounds.
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