Duke's Miracle Minute Against Maryland

When thinking about a Duke-Maryland game in College Park [which will happen once again this Sunday night], one game sticks out. The 2001 meeting in the old, historic Cole Field House saw an improbable comeback by Duke over the Terps. Down 10 with a minute remaining, the Blue Devils make a run fueled by a myriad of Maryland mistakes [missed free throws, turnovers, fouls].

Remember that Duke would go on to win the 2001 National Championship.....and this Maryland squad would win the 2002 National Championship. Ya know, back when Maryland could make the NCAA tournament.

Also, remember that this Duke team had Shane Battier, Mike Dunleavy, Chris Duhon and Carlos Boozer....all current NBA players....and Jason Williams, who would the the guy picked right after Yao Ming in the 2002 NBA Draft, only to see his career cut short to just one season after a motorcycle accident. Maryland had Steve Blake, Juan Dixon and Chris Wilcox....all current NBA players.

This would be the first of four meetings between the teams that season. Duke went on to win this game, 98-96 in overtime. The Terps got some revenge by winning in Durham, 91-80. But Duke would win the two most important games. The Devils beat the Terps in the ACC Championship game and then go on to beat Maryland in the 2001 Final Four.

What makes it even more fascinating is that ESPN lost the audio feed of the game as Duke made the tying free throws, depriving us of the in depth analysis that Dick Vitale would have enlightened us with at that moment.