- The Maryland Terrapins, riding a five-game winning streak, are back in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since November.
The Terps (21-7, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) surfaced at No. 22 on Monday after victories last week against Clemson and at Virginia Tech.
Maryland is ranked 23rd in the latest ESPN/USA Today coaches' rankings.
The Terps were ranked 21st in the AP poll in late November but fell out of the rankings after losses to Cincinnati and Wisconsin in the Maui Invitational.
Maryland coach Gary Williams said before the Clemson game that the Terps deserve to be ranked. Williams said voters make early judgments about teams and tend to stick by them. "Opinions are formed. It's tough to break opinions," the coach said.
Maryland has not lost since it played Feb. 13 at Duke. The Terps face the fourth-ranked Blue Devils on Wednesday at Comcast Center.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski praised Maryland's program Monday.
"We have ultimate respect for Maryland because I have ultimate respect for their coach and what he's done," Krzyzewski said.
With the Terps one game behind Duke, there is a possibility that the teams could tie atop the regular-season standings. Each team has one game remaining after Wednesday.
The first tiebreaker to determine the top ACC tournament seed would be head-to-head meetings. A Maryland win Wednesday would mean the teams split their series.
The next tiebreaker would be each team's winning percentage against the team occupying the next highest position in the standings.
Right now, Duke has an advantage in most, but not all, scenarios. That's because the Blue Devils are 2-0 against Clemson while the Terps are 1-1. The Blue Devils are 1-0 against Florida State, and the Terps are 2-0. Duke and Maryland are 1-0 against Virginia Tech. Duke is 1-0 against Wake Forest while Maryland is 0-1. The Tigers, Seminoles, Hokies and Demon Deacons are tied for third.
Maryland would have the advantage if Georgia Tech is involved. The Terps are 1-0 against the Yellow Jackets; Duke is 1-1. Inside Maryland at No. 22 in the AP Top 25 and No. 24 in Shannon Ryan's rankings PG 3