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After splitting the regular-season series, Maryland routed Duke in the matchup that mattered most to the ACC rivals.

Will and John Haus have grown accustomed to playing against each other in ACC play. Saturday’s match between the Blue Devils and Terrapins will be the third this season, but the stakes will be much higher than in the previous two, with a spot in Monday’s NCAA championship game in play.

The Blue Devils club team claimed the National Collegiate Cycling Championships’ Division II team trial national title in Utah earlier this month.

Dave Harding, 10 of his fellow Duke offensive linemen and a strength coach went to Ethiopia in part to help construct wells where international organizations estimate that 76 percent of the eastern African country does not have access to clean water. The trip was something close to an unqualified success.

N.C. State pitcher Carlos Rodon keeps winning. The freshman from Holly Springs won nine games during the regular season and two ACC awards on Monday.

The second and third quarters have been very kind to Duke’s lacrosse team this season. Sunday in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals, those middle quarters were decisive in Duke’s 17-6 win against Colgate before 10,770 at PPL Park.

Going to an NCAA women's lacrosse final four never loses its luster, even for Northwestern.

For winning the national title in 2010, Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski received a $2.5 million raise, boosting his total compensation by 54 percent to more than $7.2 million.

The Blue Devils program capped a tumultuous start to the offseason with a recruiting coup and optimism about a strong returning lineup.

Commentary:  The build-up to Amile Jefferson’s college decision, picking Duke over N.C. State and others, may create unrealistic expectations for the 6-foot-8 forward next fall. The Blue Devils, who badly needed him, will be happy to deal with that problem.

In a landslide vote, the former Duke guard and Cleveland Cavaliers rookie received 117 of 120 possible first-place votes after averaging 18.5 points and 5.4 assists a game.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is in Dallas today, talking up the 2012 men’s Olympic basketball team that he will coach again with hundreds of media types at the Olympic Media Summit.

After winning the first 10, ACC has lost the three Challenges, including a 4-8 record in last year’s matchups. N.C. State will face Michigan on the road, UNC will travel to Indiana, and Duke will host Ohio State.

Women::  After successfully managing the clock for most of the final 12 minutes of play, Duke suddenly found things about to unravel in the late stages of its first-round NCAA women’s lacrosse tournament game with Virginia on Sunday.