Even though the Terrapin women’s basketball team and Duke aren’t playing each other, and aren’t even in the same NCAA tournament region, the bad blood between the rivals has been evident at Comcast Center this week.
After the Blue Devils beat Murray State in their first-round game Sunday night, coach Joanne P. McCallie apparently didn’t appreciate the hostile treatment her team received from Terp fans who remained in the arena after the Terps’ win over Coppin State.
She even went so far as to make a snappy remark about the Maryland fanbase’s collective IQ.
So at today’s press conference, a reporter asked the Terp contingent of senior forwards Crystal A. Langhorne and Laura A. Harper and coach Brenda F. Thomas “Why do you think your fans dislike Duke so much?”
The usually soft-spoken Langhorne was quickest to respond.
“It’s Duke. Come on now,” Langhorne said. “I don’t know, maybe it started with men’s basketball–you know everybody hates Duke. I mean it’s not just Maryland, everybody does. I think it just festered into our little program too, just went to the women’s side.”
Harper offered slightly less inflammatory follow-up remarks, and F. Thomas just shook her head and unsuccessfully tried to stifle her laughter.
When Duke tips off its second-round game against Arizona State on Tuesday night at 7:22–with the Terps playing Nebraska 30 minutes after the conclusion–it’s a safe bet there will be plenty of early-arriving Terp fans in attendance rooting for the Sun Devils, and heckling the Blue Devils, and it might be fun for you to join them.
Come on now. It’s Duke.
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