Maryland is suddenly looking like a team that nobody wants to play in March.
Mike Jones scored 25 points and D.J. Strawberry had a pair of baskets during a decisive second-half spurt Wednesday night to lead the 24th-ranked Terrapins past No. 14 Duke 85-77, giving the Terrapins their sixth straight victory.
Strawberry finished with 17 points for the Terps (23-7, 9-6 Atlantic Coast Conference), whose win streak (all in conference games) has firmed up what looked to be a shaky NCAA tournament resume only a few weeks ago. And the two most recent wins - including an 89-87 weekend victory against North Carolina - have the Terrapins dreaming big.
Three weeks ago, it was uncertain whether No. 24 Maryland would be in contention for the NCAA tournament this late in the season. But after collecting its sixth straight victory, Maryland (23-7, 9-6 ACC) enters the sport's defining month as one of the nation's hottest teams.
Over a 17-day span, the Terrapins have beaten Duke twice and North Carolina once. They have gone from a team with no margin for error to a program eyeing a strong seed in the NCAA tournament. And they will become the first team in ACC history to start 2-5 in conference play and finish with a winning record.
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