In 1980, ACC basketball was a very different scene. There was no three-point shot, no shot clock, Duke’s best defense was a 2-3 zone, and Maryland was still in the conference.
Duke and Maryland didn’t much like each other, but it wasn’t like later, when Maryland hated Duke, while Duke, or at least the fans, were indifferent to Maryland.
It was pretty heated on both sides in 1980, and both teams were really good.
Maryland had Albert King, Ernest Graham, Greg Manning, and Buck Williams, while Duke featured
Mike Gminski, Kenny Dennard, and Gene Banks up front, AKA the Duke Power Company.
The guards were Bob Bender and Vince Taylor.
When Maryland came to Cameron on February 16, 1980, both teams played well, and the game was close until the very end. Maryland cut the lead to 62-61 with 1:07 to play.
After the timeout, you’ll notice that Duke burned the clock down to 0:16 before Dutch Morley fouled Gminski. An excellent foul shooter, G-man hit both to put Duke up 64-61.
It’s somewhat strange today to see that much time just being burned in keep-away.
The Blue Devils ended up winning, 66-61. This came after a matchup earlier in February, which Maryland won 101-82, and a couple of weeks before the rubber match in the ACC Tournament, which Duke won 73-72.
That game ended in controversy, which we’ll get into next time.
Go to the DBR Boards to find Blue Healer Auctions || Drop us a line
