It was a tough day for Duke's perimeter defenders. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

GREENSBORO—One week ago, Duke turned in a surprising performance. It would have been hard to predict such a dominant showing—a game that was over within the first three minutes—against what was then a hot North Carolina team.

Yesterday, Duke served up another surprise. It would have been hard to predict a worse showing against an NIT-bound Maryland. The Blue Devils made Dez Wells look like an all-American, pressing up on him just so he could beat them with a quick step on his way to the basket and a career-high 30 points.

The perimeter also struggled to keep up with Maryland's passing, as the Terrapins recorded assists on 69.2 percent of their baskets.

So, to state the obvious, Duke's defense—which has not gotten statistically better with Ryan Kelly's return—was awful against the Terrapins. Duke surrendered 1.19 points per possession. To put that into perspective, the Blue Devils gave up 1.15 points per possession in their embarrassing loss at Miami.

Dez Wells had a career day against Duke. Credit: ETHAN HYMAN

GREENSBORO—It took Mike Krzyzewski 93 seconds to realize something wasn’t quite right.

The Duke coach called a quick timeout after two Duke misses and two Maryland baskets in attempt to fix what he saw. But the problems for Duke persisted all 40 minutes, as No. 7 seed Maryland played like a team desperate for an NCAA bid in an 83-74 win.

“They had a sense of urgency today that we didn’t,” Seth Curry said. “Because we knew we had another game to play, I felt like.”

Duke opens up ACC tournament action with a rubber match against Maryland. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Duke vs. Maryland
When: 7 p.m.
Where:Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, N.C.
TV/RadioESPNU, WKIX-102.9 FM
Talking points: Defensive success: how Duke measures it, and how the Blue Devils stack up according to Ken Pomeroy.

Projected starting lineups

N. 7 Maryland (21-11, 8-10 in the ACC)
G Pe’Shon Howard, 3.3 ppg, 3.7 apg
G Nick Faust, 9.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg
G-F Dez Wells, 12.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg
G-F Jake Layman, 5.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg
C Alex Len, 11.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg

No. 2 Duke (27-4, 14-4)

G Quinn Cook, So., 12.5 ppg, 5.3 apg
G Seth Curry, Sr., 17.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg
G Tyler Thornton, Jr., 3.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg
F Ryan Kelly, Sr., 14.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg
F Mason Plumlee, Sr., 17.2 ppg, 10.3 rpg

Player to watch:

Seth Curry, Duke

Mason Plumlee has a chance to asset himself against another potential lottery pic in Maryland's Alex Len.

Duke vs. Maryland
When: 1:00 p.m.
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
TV/Radio: CBS/WKIX-102.9 FM
What: Duke has to rebound from a loss. Two players from the 2009 team that lost by 27 at Clemson—Nolan Smith and Gerald Henderson—reflect on that. And Jay Williams talks about a particularly disappointing loss in 2002.

Projected starting lineups:

No. 1 Duke (16-2, 3-2 in the ACC)
G Quinn Cook, So., 11.1 ppg, 6.1 apg
G Seth Curry, Sr., 15.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg
G Rasheed Sulaimon, Fr., 11.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg
F Amile Jefferson, Fr., 4.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg
F Mason Plumlee, Sr., 17.3 ppg, 11.4 rpg

Maryland (15-4, 3-3)
G Seth Allen, Fr., 5.7 ppg, 2.5 apg
G Nick Faust, So., 8.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg
G/F Dez Wells, So., 11.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg
G/F Jake Layman, Fr., 4.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg
C Alex Len, So., 13.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg

Player to watch:

Mason Plumlee, Duke