Who are you and what have you done with Brian Zoubek?

In a day lacking marquee matchups, Duke and Maryland was one of the most anticipated games of the day.

The two leaders in the ACC standings. The two leaders for ACC player of the year squaring off. And hell, its Duke and Maryland. Maryland's recent struggles aside, this is still one of the best rivalries in college basketball.

Well, things didn't exactly go as planned.

Brian Zoubek had 16 points and 17 boards against Maryland.
(photo credit: Scout)

For the second straight season in Cameron, Maryland didn't show up and Duke dominated this game from the tip. They jumped out to a 20-6 lead and pushed it to a 40-24 lead at the half. Maryland never got it back into single digits.

The reasons for Maryland's struggles were aplenty. The normally sweet shooting Terps finished the game having shot just 37.7% from the floor and 15% from the deep. Maryland had just two players score more than two points in the first half, and Greivis Vasquez wasn't one of them. In fact, Vasquez decided not to show up on Saturday until the game was already decided. Landon Milbourne and Sean Mosley, two players that Maryland relies upon for 25.6 ppg and 11.0 rpg, managed just 6 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, 3-12 shooting from the floor, and not a single free throw. Combined.

None of that helped.

But the biggest reason (in a literal sense) that Duke won yesterday came from an unexpected source.

With Miles Plumlee getting sent to the bench (he's struggled mightily in the last eight games, scoring more two points just one time), Brian Zoubek got the start, and he made Coach K look like a genius.

Zoubs played like a first-rounder, dominating the interior. He finished with 16 points, 17 boards, and 2 blocks, and 8 of those rebounds came on the offensive end. The 17 boards were a career high, and his 16 points were the most Zoubek has scored since the third game of his freshman season.

Its been a long time coming for the seven footer.

Zoubek was a top 25 recruit coming out of high school, a "rapidly improving big man with a refined post game", according to Rivals. But a lack of athleticism and quickness combined with a system that doesn't cater to big, slow centers kept Zoubek from ever establishing himself as a consistent contributor, let alone a star.

This season, however, Zoubek has found a niche. He hits the offensive glass (in 10 games this season, he has four or more offensive boards). He blocks some shots. He plays good positional defense, and picks up a number of charges.

And every once in a while, he'll score a couple points.

Granted, it came against a struggling Maryland team with a small front line playing in Cameron.

It was still a fantastic performance from Kareem Abdul-Zoubek.