Maryland doesn't have a great chance to beat Duke on Wednesday. If they were without Alex Len, as raw as he may be, that chance would probably shrink to nil.
Good news, then: Mark Turgeon expects that the big Ukrainian, who injured his ankle on Saturday against Temple, will be ready to go.
"We'll see when practice comes around today if he's able to go," Turgeon said. "He's a little sore and got treatment yesterday and is in class all day today. I expect him to play Wednesday. How much and how healthy he is, well see. That will change between now and Wednesday."
Of course, it does sound like there's quite a bit of wiggle room - maybe his ankle is more limiting than expected and he can't go, or something like that. Still, it's a lot better than hearing "No."
Len has plenty of flaws in his game, no doubt, but when facing the Plumlees and Ryan Kelly, all of which have size and athleticism, I'd much prefer him to, say, James Padgett on an island. The days of expecting Len to boss the ACC right out of the gates have probably died, but Maryland still needs his presence in the lineup, especially against teams with size like Duke has.
Again, not expecting an upset by any means. But if one was going to happen, a big performance by Len would probably be a requisite.