Vasquez

Not since Drew Nicholas beat UNC Wilmington in 2003 had a Maryland Terrapin hit a buzzer-beating shot of the sort that Cliff Tucker rained down on Georgia Tech on Saturday before a frenzied sellout crowd at Comcast Center. Tucker's heroics might not have come in the NCAA tournament as Nicholas' did, but the junior guard's corner jumper carried its own set of circumstances that made it an instant classic. Tucker's 3-pointer - the buzzer sounded while the shot was in the air - beat Georgia Tech, 76-74, to keep Maryland undefeated (6-0)

Y ou love how he plays and hate how he plays. You thrill to the rainbow jumpers and the fearless drives to the hole and the no-look passes. And you want to strangle him when he tries to force the ball inside or puts up a crazy shot with defenders draped all over him, as happens all too frequently. Oh, yeah, if you're a Maryland basketball fan, Greivis Vasquez drives you nuts. And maybe because of this, you end up over-analyzing everything about him. What's with the hair?

- Maryland had all kinds of excuses to lose to North Carolina State on Wednesday night at RBC Center. Playing their third game in five days, the Terps might have claimed fatigue. Having not lost to N.C. State in six games, they might have claimed the odds were with the Wolfpack - as woeful as they've been - to finally break that losing streak. But Maryland is proving to be a team that doesn't make excuses - the Terps just win games. With a second-half comeback from a 12-point deficit, Maryland won easily, 67-58, to reclaim second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

You love how he plays and hate how he plays. You thrill to the rainbow jumpers and the fearless drives to the hole and the no-look passes. And you want to strangle him when he tries to force the ball inside or puts up a crazy shot with defenders draped all over him, as happens all too frequently. Oh, yeah, if you're a Maryland basketball fan, Greivis Vasquez drives you nuts. And maybe because of this, you end up over-analyzing everything about him. What's with the hair?

It sure felt sweet for Maryland to return home, see all that red in the stands Monday night and bask in familiar surroundings. Actually, the Terrapins appeared pleased to be anywhere but Cameron Indoor Stadium, where they were humbled by Duke two days earlier. Maryland has been a competitive road team this season - a 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference mark - but the Terps have been downright potent at Comcast Center, where they improved their league record to 5-0 with an 85-66 pasting of Virginia.

- So many of the architects of the long-standing Maryland-Duke rivalry were in attendance Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. There was former Terrapins coach Lefty Driesell and former Duke player J.J. Redick, a Maryland nemesis. There was current Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who was celebrating his 1,000th game at Duke and his 63rd birthday. And there was Maryland coach Gary Williams, whose Terrapins were unable to use Saturday's game to revive the rivalry, which has turned one-sided the past few seasons.