Kyle Singler racked up 29 points and nine rebounds as the fifth-ranked and No. 2 seed Duke Blue Devils triumphed over the No. 7 seed Maryland Terrapins, 87-71, in the quarterfinals of the 2011 ACC Tournament on Friday night in Greensboro, N.C.
Duke (28-4) will advance to face the winner of No. 3 seed Florida State and No. 6 seed Virginia Tech, which was also played on Friday night. This is the fourth consecutive year the two-time defending ACC Tournament champion Blue Devils have reached the semifinals.
Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly both finished with 11 points and Mason Plumlee and Miles Plumlee each scored 10 points for Duke, which shot 49.2% from the field and 20% from three-point range.
Nolan Smith, the ACC Player of the Year, limped off the court late in the second half after suffering an injury. He finished with seven points and two assists in 31 minutes for the Blue Devils.
Jordan Williams paced Maryland with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Cliff Tucker scored 12 points off the bench and both Dino Gregory and Pe'Shon Howard added 10 points for the Terrapins, who shot 44.8% from the floor and 50% from downtown (5-for-8 3PT).
The Blue Devils outscored the Terrapins, 42-33, in the opening half. The second half featured more of the same for Duke, which outscored Maryland, 45-38, to preserve the win and advance to the semifinals of the 2011 ACC Tournament.
2011 ACC Tournament Schedule
Thursday, March 10 - First Round
#9 Miami defeats #8 Virginia, 69-62 (OT)
#5 Boston College defeats #12 Wake Forest, 81-67
#7 Maryland defeats #10 N.C. State, 75-67
#6 Virginia Tech defeats #11 Georgia Tech, 59-43
Friday, March 11 - Quarterfinals
#1 North Carolina defeats #9 Miami, 61-59
#4 Clemson defeats # 5 Boston College, 70-47
#2 Duke defeats #7 Maryland, 87-71
#3 Florida State vs. #6 Virginia Tech, 9 p.m. ACC Network/ESPN2
Saturday, March 12 - Semifinals
#1 North Carolina vs. Clemson, 1:00 p.m. ACC Network/ESPN
ACC Semifinal 2 3:00 p.m.* ACC Network/ESPN
Sunday, March 13 - Championship
Championship Game 1:00 p.m. ACC Network/ESPN