College Park Readies for Duke Game

College Park will be full of energy today, and may be long into the night.

Yes, today is the day that students flood back into classrooms at the University of Maryland, but tonight is also the night that the Duke University basketball team comes to College Park.

Police and city officials say they’ve taken measures to prevent any post-game activity from getting out of hand, like it did two years ago. After the University of Maryland beat Duke in College Park in 2010, Terp fans flooded the street and rioted. The events led to the indictment of two Prince George’s County Police officers for their alleged involvement in the beating of a University of Maryland student. (.)

What leads to such eruptive behavior has been a long-standing rivalry between the Maryland and Duke basketball teams. But wait, a rivalry? Really?

Diamondback reporter Conor Walsh points out that in the past 20 years, the Terps are 14-34 against the Blue Devils. In the last 10 meetings, Maryland lost nine of them. Is there really enough back-and-forth between the two teams for there still to exist a rivalry? No, it’s abject hatred, he writes. (Read more from Walsh’s column here.)

In addition to this alleged hatred, a jolt of energy will surge through the bleachers of Maryland fans before the game when former head coach Gary Williams pays a visit to his old stomping ground. The court in the Comcast Center will be named for the legendary coach, who .

Even the Terp feet will be engulfed in some—colorful—energy. Slam reports that the Maryland athletes will be wearing exclusively-designed Under Armour sneaks, featuring Williams’ signature on the back heel.

The Duke team itself could have a surge of motivation Wednesday night, coming off a 76-73 loss against Florida State at its home court Saturday night. Maryland lost to Florida State and Temple last week, bringing the team’s overall record to 12-6. Duke is 16-3.

Most University of Maryland Police will be keeping watch at the Comcast Center—their usual post during games.

“We anticipate a full house. We also anticipate if [Maryland] wins … the students will rush the floor. We have to maintain that staffing in the stadium until that clears up,” UMd. Police Spokesman Marc Limansky said.

Prince George’s County, Maryland State and Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Police will also be involved in maintaining order, he said. Leaders from the different agencies will have one meeting place to keep communication open between the groups.

The different agencies have been working closely together, according to Cpt. Marc Alexander of the county police.

He said that the District 1 officers, from investigators to commanders, have been “deeply involved in being prepared for tonight’s event which will hopefully be uneventful.”

Cpl. Errol Lobin, county police PIO, said he has been working with the university police to reach out to bars to remind them not to over serve patrons tonight; to gas stations to discourage the sale of gas cans and Home Depot discouraging the sale of flammable items.

The Prince George’s Property Owners Association has also notified landlords about the Duke game, who were told to remind their tenants to behave accordingly, according to a PGPOA representative who spoke at Tuesday’s Mayor and Council meeting.

If you’re venturing out in College Park this evening, here are a few details to keep in mind:

• The game starts at 9 p.m. in the Comcast Center, but fans are encouraged to arrive 20 minutes prior to tipoff for the Gary Williams court dedication.
• Limansky reminds students to watch the university police Twitter accounts for updates. The handles are @umpdalerts and @umpd. If police declare an area as an unauthorized assembly, you’ll be notified through Twitter. “You can’t go there to be an observer,” Limansky said; if you go, you’re a part of it.
• Lobin said that operators of several student high-rise complexes are reminding their tenants they are liable for any damages to property.