UMES (4-11) at Maryland (10-2)
When & Where: Dec. 28, 2024 | 12:00 PM | Xfinity Center
TV: BTN | Joe Malfa (pxp), Christy Winters-Scott (analyst)
Radio: One Maryland App | 105.7 FM (Baltimore) | 980 AM (DC) | Sirius XM channel 383
Betting: Maryland -40.5 | O/U: 151.5 (FanDuel)
The non-conference finale for Maryland men’s basketball is officially here as head coach Kevin Willard and the Terps welcome UMES to College Park for a noon tipoff on Saturday. Maryland is a perfect 18-0 against the Hawks with the last matchup a 53-point win back on Nov. 12, 2017.
Saturday could prove to be a similar game that fans have seen through the previous Quad Four games to open 2024-25 as UMES has lost by at least 39 points in all four games against high major opponents, including a 109-35 loss at Arkansas that came two days after a 47-point loss vs. Illinois.
KC Shaw leads the team in scoring with 19.5 points per game, one of three players averaging double figures, while UMES was picked to finish second-to-last in the MEAC, barely drawing more votes than Coppin State.
As for Maryland, who enters the weekend ranked inside the top-20 in the NET (7), KenPom (11), Torvik (11), EvanMiya (14) and ESPN Basketball Power Index (14), head coach Kevin Willard may find his squad one win away from ascending back into the top-25 for the first time since Feb. 27, 2023.
Maryland’s tweaked starting five also remains one of the most efficient in the country, currently ranked sixth-best in the nation according to EvanMiya, as point guard Ja’Kobi Gilespie is coming off his first double-double as a Terp. Meanwhile, Selton Miguel has had the hot hand for Maryland after pouring in double figures in seven of his last eight games, while Rodney Rice’s outside scoring touch has made the Terps’ backcourt a lethal trio.
Derik Queen has registered double figures in each of the last ten games with three double-doubles along the way, living up to the billing as the phenom freshman after being named a two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week selection. Meanwhile, Julian Reese enters Saturday seven points away from tying Maurice Howard for 42nd all-time in scoring and four blocks away from tying Damonte Dodd for eighth-most in program history.
Maryland will return to action on Jan. 2 in the first at Washington.
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