Polls don't mean a darn thing in college basketball. So I'm pretty sure I saw the No. 1 team Sunday.
Not Kansas. Kansas didn't make Goliath look like a star-struck mid-major. Kansas may have the most complete roster in the nation, but it didn't beat Duke.
Maryland did.
It wasn't even much of a game. The Terps won by 14 and led the entire way. They were up by 25 points three times.
Over Duke! The Blue Devils have five straight regular-season conference titles and three of college basketball's top 50 players. But, against Maryland, they looked just like any other team.
Come to think of it, Delaware State gave the Terps a tougher first half. So did Monmouth.
Where is Monmouth anyway?
I know it's not even March yet. It's too early to declare the Terps a No. 1 seed or say they've finally figured out Duke once and for all.
But, you know, they did look good.
A set back? Not for these guys
Not that Duke cares. Thanks to Coach K's lauded "build to March" philosophy, the Blue Devils are treating regular-season losses like Enron treated in-house warnings.
Duke seems to have an answer to everything. Just listen to what the The Washington Post's Jon Gallo picked up.
Lose to a team that dominated on the inside, out-rebounded you and forced you into 18 turnovers?
From Jason Williams: "This is the best I've seen Maryland play."
How about losing badly to a team that Duke might see again in the NCAA tournament final?
From Krzyzwekski himself: "I'm not really concerned about what happens during the regular season. I don't get involved with [conference] races. I'm just concerned about getting us ready for the national championship."
Whoa, hang on there, coach. It's not even March yet. Talk about getting ahead of yourself.
Last time I saw a group of players that thought of themselves as unbeatable even in defeat, as smarter and more talented than any opponent, as destined to sit upon their rightful throne as repeat champions, they were playing football in St. Louis.
You remember them from the Super Bowl, don't you? They lost to an inspired underdog.
A million reasons to win
On April 1, Championship Monday, Maryland could well be that inspired underdog. By then it might be a stretch to call the Terps underdogs, but they will not lack inspiration.
There's Byron Mouton. Sunday, he played the best defense Dahntay Jones had seen all year. The mere act of playing is inspiration coming from Mouton - his older brother Kevin was murdered three months ago while sitting in his car.
There's coach Gary Williams. Sunday, he devised the perfect combination of double- and triple-teaming to stop Jason Williams, despite the death of his father one day before Sunday's game.
There's Juan Dixon, the grittiest player in the conference. There's also the title-starved fans and even the basketball stadium, Cole Field House, which will close after the March 3 game against Virginia.
Tell me that's not destiny. Tell me that if the Terrapins won a championship any sportswriter would not give an arm, a leg and a credential to tell their stories.
I won't pretend that I know if the players for Kansas or Duke are under similar circumstances. Or if the Blue Devils have the discipline to start focusing on their opponents instead of themselves.
I won't even pretend the Terps should be No. 1 in the polls and title favorites. It's not even March yet!
But, you know, they do look good.
(Sam Le's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can reached at sle@cavalierdaily.com.)
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