WASHINGTON - The loudest sound before the Maryland-Notre Dame game was a crescendo of boos for Dan Miller during the player introductions. Toward the end of the Fighting Irish's resounding 79-67 victory, the constant cheer of the Subway Alumni was music to his ears.
Miller, the 6-foot-8 swingman who spent his first three seasons at Maryland before transferring in 2001 after helping the Terps reach their first Final Four, had a delightful return inside the Capital Beltway. He steadied Notre Dame with a pair of three-pointers in the opening minutes and finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and a satisfied grin.
"The people who boo you are always going to be louder than the people who support you," the fifth-year senior wing said. "It was funny in warm-ups, looking down and seeing those colors again, what I was used to being in. It was weird for a minute."
It took the Terps 35 minutes to surpass Miller's total of three-pointers, but he matched Maryland with his fourth with 4:26 left, which gave Notre Dame a 70-55 lead and quieted the Terps' comeback attempt for good. He showed his experience in a variety of roles, giving his guards a break by beating Maryland's passive pressure at one point, and checking Drew Nicholas and Tahj Holden at different junctures.
"You saw how comfortable I was playing for Notre Dame," Miller said when asked why he left Maryland. "My role [in College Park] was different. I was asked to do different things that didn't show up in the [box] score all the time."
Texas tough
Texas had an easier time than the last No. 2 team from the Big 12 Conference to grace the BB&T;, as the Longhorns held off George Washington in the first semifinal for a 100-92 win. Five years ago to the day, Kansas came to MCI Center with the same designation and fell to Maryland, 86-83.
Texas (5-0) went ahead for good with 18:24 left on a three-pointer by Brandon Mouton, who's no relation to former Terp Byron. The Longhorns got a stellar game inside from James Thomas, as the junior center collected 26 points on 10 of 11 shooting and 10 rebounds. Chris Monroe had 26 points for the Colonials (3-2).
Et cetera
The loss left Maryland 0-2 in the marquee sports against Notre Dame this year and 0-2 against the state of Indiana for the week, including the Terps' loss to Indiana in basketball Tuesday. ... Terrell Ross, who played for Meade High and was a junior college teammate of Ryan Randle's at Allegany College, had seven points and four rebounds for Texas. ... Longhorns assistant Russell Springmann was the point guard at Salisbury in the late 1980s, when the Sea Gulls were a Division III scoring sensation.