Maryland Scores Stunning Upset: Makes Mike Krzyzewski Sound Reasonable

Maryland upset Duke yesterday 83-81 and the students rushed the court after Quinn Cook's desperation half-court shot clanged off the rim. It was a good game made great by the history between the two schools thanks to conference affiliation. Both Maryland and Duke were charter members of the ACC when it was founded in 1953. Yesterday, Maryland coach Mark Turgeon talked about how much the win meant to him and to the program.

"I know what it means to our fan base. I wanted to beat Duke. I wanted to beat Duke. This means a lot to me. I talked about it in the summer, 'God, if we beat Duke, I'm going to be in the student section. I'm going to be hanging out with the students.' This game means a lot to me.

Most likely, this game will no longer exist beginning in 2014 when Maryland heads to the Big 10. When the move was first announced, Krzyzewski was pissed, and went on and on about loyalty, honesty and tradition or whatever. Last night, he sharpened his focus and now, actually, kind of makes sense.

We don't look at rivalries. We look at each opponent the same. I've said that every time I've come here. I have a great deal of respect for Maryland. If it was such a rivalry they'd still be in the ACC. Obviously they don't think it's that important, or they wouldn't be in the Big Ten. I respect their basketball program and the job their coaches have done and their players have done over the years. We've had some great games with them, but we have great games against a lot of people. A lot of people want to beat us, and they're one of them.

In just a few months Krzyzewski has gone from bemoaning the loss of "loyalty and tradition" to making Maryland just another game on the calendar. Meanwhile Maryland has gone from jumping ship for financial security to talking about a game for the fan base. What we have here is a case of two programs speaking in bullshit abstractions and somehow, Mike fucking Krzyzewski's is the one that now resonates. Way to go, Maryland.