Maryland's recent history against Duke is dismal, to say the least. The Terrapins made the latest game in the series one for the books.
Juan Dixon matched his career high with 31 points and No. 23 Maryland beat No. 3 Duke 98-87 Wednesday night, ending three impressive winning streaks by the Blue Devils.
The Terrapins (17-6, 6-4), who had lost 28 of their previous 33 games against Duke, snapped:
- an Atlantic Coast Conference-record 31-game winning streak in the regular season;
- an 18-game overall winning streak, the longest in the nation;
- a 46-game winning streak in Cameron Indoor Stadium, one that dated to Jan. 11, 1997.
"Streaks come to an end, now we've got to start another one," Duke senior Chris Carrawell said. "It was a great run and it's sad it ended on our home court, but that's how God had it in the plans."
Terence Morris, who struggled through a 7-for-22 shooting night, gave Maryland the lead for good at 86-83 with a 3-pointer with 3:27 left. He added another 3 a minute later, and Dixon wrapped it up with three free throws in the final 31 seconds as the Terrapins closed the game with a 15-4 run.
"The coaches still told me to shoot," said Morris, who finished with 20 points, two less than teammate Lonny Baxter. "I knew my shot was kind of off in the first half, but they kept calling plays for me. Those last two 3-pointers were open, so I had to take them."
Shane Battier had 28 points and was one of four players to score in double figures for the Blue Devils (18-3, 9-1). Carlos Boozer Jr. of Juneau, whose father Carlos Sr. played college basketball for Maryland, scored six points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds for Duke.
In other games involving ranked teams Wednesday, it was Iowa 67, No. 5 Ohio State 64; No. 8 Tennessee 110, Georgia 83; No. 25 LSU 83, No. 9 Auburn 68; Minnesota 77, No. 10 Indiana 75; No. 13 Connecticut 87, Boston College 58; No. 17 Iowa State 72, Missouri 62; No. 18 Texas 76, Texas Tech 60; and No. 22 Vanderbilt 65, Mississippi State 64.
"It's amazing to play that well and it still go down to the wire," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "They deserve to be No. 3. I think we caught them at the right time. I seems like there was more and more talk about the streak and this was our time to get a chance.
"We really believed we could win the game walking on the court. That was the key."
Neither team led by more than seven points until the final two minutes as both teams shot 53 percent.
"We just stayed with them, exchanged punch-for-punch," said Baxter, who added 10 rebounds and a career-high six assists in 29 minutes. "Most teams come in here and are satisfied at the half, saying, `We played good and expect to come out and win the game.' It doesn't happen like that here. You've got to stay focused."
Carrawell gave all the credit to Maryland.
"We definitely were silenced," he said. "They outplayed us and they took the crowd out of it. They deserved to win."
Iowa 67, No. 5 Ohio St. 64 Kyle Galloway hit a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left to give the Hawkeyes (11-11, 4-6) their third win over a ranked team. Dean Oliver had 21 points and Galloway added 12 for the visitors. Scoonie Penn had 22 points for the Buckeyes (16-4, 7-2), who had won eight straight and 12 of 13, and Ken Johnson matched his school record with 11 blocked shots. George Reese of Ohio State tied the game 64-64 on an offensive rebound with 11 seconds left.
No. 8 Tennessee 110, Georgia 83 Tony Harris scored 21 points for the Volunteers (20-3, 8-2 Southeastern Conference), who had their highest point total of the season and got to 20 wins faster than any team in school history. D.A. Layne had a career-high 30 points for the visiting Bulldogs (9-14, 2-8).
No. 25 LSU 83, No. 9 Auburn 68 Brian Beshara scored 24 points and Jabari Smith added 20 as LSU (18-4, 5-4 Southeastern Conference) beat its second Top Ten team this season. Mack McGadney had 19 points for the visiting Tigers (19-4, 7-3), who shot 25 percent from the field, including 1-for-11 from 3-point range, in falling behind 34-22 at halftime.
Minnesota 77, No. 10 Indiana 75 Joel Przybilla scored a career-high 33 points, including the game-winning basket with 3.9 seconds left for the Golden Gophers (12-9, 4-7 Big Ten). A.J. Guyton, who scored 27 points despite a 17´-minute drought, was several feet short on a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Hoosiers (17-4, 7-3), who haven't won in Williams Arena in five years.
No. 13 Connecticut 87, Boston College 58 Albert Mouring was 5-for-5 from 3-point range and scored a career-high 23 points as the Huskies (17-5, 6-3 Big East) beat the Eagles for the 22nd consecutive time. Freshman Troy Bell had 13 points for visiting Boston College (9-14, 1-9), which has lost 10 straight games. The Huskies were without starting center Jake Voskuhl, who sprained his right ankle in the loss to Michigan State on Saturday.
No. 17 Iowa St. 72, Missouri 62 Marcus Fizer had 28 points and 12 rebounds for the Cyclones (20-3, 8-1), who improved to 3-1 on the road in the Big 12 after going 1-15 the last two seasons. Keyon Dooling had 18 points for the Tigers (14-7, 7-2), who had a seven-game conference winning streak snapped.
No. 18 Texas 76, Texas Tech 60 Chris Mihm had 23 points and 15 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season as the Longhorns (16-6, 7-2 Big 12) rolled at home. Mario Layne had 20 points for the Red Raiders (9-11, 0-9), who have lost eight straight, their longest losing streak since dropping 18 in a row in 1989-90.
No. 22 Vanderbilt 65, Mississippi St. 64 Dan Langhi scored 21 points to lead the Commodores (16-4, 6-3 Southeastern Conference). Marckell Patterson had 13 points for the Bulldogs (12-10, 3-6), who had a chance at the road win, but Robert Jackson's jumper at the buzzer bounced off the back of the rim.
