Standing at 11-2 (1-1) heading into the new year, Maryland men's basketball will enter the new year points away from being included in the AP top 25 in consecutive weeks with Big Ten play around the corner. We dive into what Maryland has shown through 13 games and what to watch for the rest of the 2024-25 season.
What we’ve learned
Maryland has the scoring balance it lacked in 2023-24
One season after it was the Jahmir Young show in College Park, who accounted for nearly 30% of the team’s scoring, head coach Kevin Willard made it clear he was going to prioritize scoring to revamp the roster in year three. Once Derik Queen made his commitment official, the need for shooters became obvious as Maryland looked to stretch the floor with its star Baltimore tandem locking down the paint, giving the Terps’ improved floor spacing in the halfcourt.
Through the first 13 games, Maryland has done exactly that. Derik Queen is leading the way with nearly 17 points per game on 59% shooting, while all five starters are averaging double figures and shooting at least 43% from the floor. Queen’s five 20-point games are already halfway toward tying Melo Trimble’s program record for the most by a freshman, living up to his billing as a potential lottery pick. He isn’t doing it alone as Ja’Kobi Gillespie is one point and assist away from consecutive double-doubles, proving he’s capable of making the jump so far as he’s ranked the seventh-best player in the country, per EvanMiya.
Rodney Rice’s outside shooting touch has helped the Terps add a different scoring dynamic to the backcourt, becoming a permanent piece in the starting lineup after the Marquette game, as he’s drilled at least two threes in eight games so far. It took time for Selton Miguel to find his on-court fit alongside a new set of teammates, but the fifth-year guard has settled in as he enters conference play scoring in double figures in each of his last seven games.
That scoring balance has propelled the Terps to one of the highest-scoring teams in the country so far, averaging over 87 points per game – 11th most nationally and third-most in the conference. And to the surprise of no one, Maryland’s defense has lived up to Willard’s expectation as the Terps lead the country in scoring margin (+26).
The question is who Willard will turn to in crunch time with multiple potential go-to in the starting five, giving Maryland a chance to ride the hot hand through conference play. And one season after living and dying on Jahmir Young’s production, it’s the type of question that Maryland is now better equipped to answer.
Portal additions have been as advertised
Maryland had holes to fill after a second sub-.500 season in three years, the biggest being Jahmir Young’s departure at point guard. Ja’Kobi Gillespie became the clear target early in the portal process as Willard locked in on securing the Belmont transfer, though Willard noted the incoming junior wasn’t recruited for the purpose of replacing Jahmir’s production. Through 13 games, he’s been a big part of doing exactly that though as he enters the new year rated the second-highest player in the Big Ten behind Ace Baldwin (Penn State), per EvanMiya.
Rodney Rice’s outside shooting touch became a clear plus for Maryland through the first four games of the season before he supplanted DeShawn Harris-Smith in the starting lineup, while fifth-year guard Selton Miguel has found his groove to bolster the Terps’ scoring highlighted by consecutive 24-point outings against Saint Francis and Syracuse.
Jay Young filled the void left vacant by Jahari Long as the primary backup ball handler, showing he can facilitate as well as stretch the floor with at least one three in seven games this season, while Tafara Gapare stepped up to round out the frontcourt rotation through non-conference play.
For maryland, now it’s about maintaining that same efficiency through conference play.
Frontcourt has firepower
One of the questions heading into the season was how the new-look frontcourt would mesh after Willard repeatedly cautioned how frequently Reese and Queen would share the floor together. Heading into the heat of conference play, the tweaked starting five featuring both Queen and Reese remains one of the most efficient in the country sitting eighth in the country, per EvanMiya.
The obvious answer as to why is clear: Derik Queen. The freshman big has been as advertised through the first 13 games, remaining a constant lottery pick in updated 2025 mock drafts with each passing game, proving himself as efficient as any player in the country around the rim where he’s shooting 65% inside the arc. Though he’s only shooting 12.5% from deep, his two made threes on the season came in the back-and-forth contest against Purdue – Queen’s first true road game of his career. Julian Reese, meanwhile, has flashed in year four as the senior is coming off a 23 point and 11 rebound performance in UMES for his sixth double-double of the season. The senior big hasn’t had to step into a go-to role so far this season partially because of Maryland’s scoring balance, and partially because Queen has proven himself as a mismatch at times in the post.
Willard noted rebounding is a focus heading into conference play: “again our guards have to rebound the basketball a little bit better and we have to get to the free throw line a little bit more,” he noted after the UMES win. But between the Baltimore duo, Maryland has juice on both ends of the floor where the Terps are tied for third in the Big Ten in rebounds per game (39.8) and rank tied for 22nd nationally in rebound margin (+8).
What to watch for
How does Maryland handle the heightened competition?
The calls for Maryland to be ranked have grown louder over the last two weeks after completing non-conference play with an 11-2 (1-1) mark, but the biggest hurdle that the Terps haven’t been able to answer yet is the level of competition. Maryland sits 347th out of 364th in KenPom’s strength of schedule – only Vanderbilt, BYU, Texas, Missouri and Utah rank worse among high major teams.
Maryland also enters the new year sitting at 1-2 in Quad One games – compared to 8-0 in Quad Four games. Maryland’s two losses by a combined nine points squandered a chance at a validating early season, though the eye test has shown that it’s a when – not if – question when the Terps become a ranked team. But now the Terps will have to prove it starting with a west coast swing featuring a top-ten team in Oregon, giving Maryland a chance to capture the validation the national media was hesitant about through the first two months of the season.
How will Maryland fare outside of Xfinity?
There’s been a stark contrast in success at home vs. on the road during Willard’s time at Maryland. Boasting a 36-8 record at Xfinity Center, Maryland is just 13-29 in games away from College Park during the Willard era. Of course, two of those wins came this season when a second-half comeback was just enough to beat Villanova, while the second was far from competitive as Maryland dominated Syracuse en route to an 87-60 win. But with road games against Oregon, Illinois and Michigan on the docket the rest of the way, Willard will get a chance to quiet the road critics.
Maryland’s depth set to be tested
This has been a strength for Maryland through the first 13 games with ten players averaging at least ten minutes per game in 2024-25, though beating teams by at least 30 points in six games this season has helped make that possible. Still, Memphis transfer Jay Young has provided valuable minutes behind Gillespie at point guard while Tafara Gapare has provided added athleticism to the frontcourt off the bench, showcasing his high-flying dunks through 2024 while setting a career-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting vs. Bucknell. DeShawn Harris-Smith has settled into his role in the second unit, while freshman Malachi Palmer has flashed through his first stretch of college basketball.
Of course, the depth has been limited at times with Braden Pierce now next to Jahari Long on the season-ending injury list, while Chance Stephens has been inactive for the last three games. Jordan Geronimo, who missed five games with a hamstring injury, returned against Purdue and has posted at least four points in ten minutes in each of the last three games, shooting a combined 8-of-12 from the field.
Maryland now enters that time of the year where the rotation tightens, though, where Willard will look for Young and Gapare to remain mainstays in the rotation.
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