The Maryland Terrapins opened their 2024-2025 men’s basketball Big-Ten schedule tonight with a resounding win over Ohio State by a final score of 83-59 at the XFINITY Center in College Park, Maryland. With this victory, the Terps improved to 8-1 on the season.
Freshman Derik Queen recorded his fourth double-double of the season tonight, and Ja’Kobi Gillespie was the high-scorer with 23 points in this game. There were five Terps with double-digit points against Ohio State tonight.
Head coach Kevin Willard was pleased with what he saw of his team. With nine games in the books and a revamped roster, Willard is making his tweaks in every game. This was by far the best team win of the season and the final 24-point margin of victory really wasn’t indicative of Maryland’s dominant play tonight as they loosened up in the second half and subbed in bench players.
“I mean, we’re the eighth-ranked defensive team in the country, so we’ve been kind of doing it all year. But to do it in a conference game, I think, was the most important thing. I mean, it’s — our second-half defensive effort against Villanova was pretty darn good. These guys have been giving great effort [on defense] all year for the most part.”
— Head coach Willard on the Terps’defense
In the first game of this season, Queen’s 22 points were the most by a Maryland freshman in a debut game since Joe Smith had 26 versus Georgetown in 1993. Queen also posted the most rebounds by a freshman in their debut for Maryland and the most by any Big Ten freshman in a debut since at least 1996-97.
In the offseason, Willard and his staff revamped the roster with several key transfers and signing freshmen Derik Queen, a 5-star recruit. He entered Maryland as the second-highest ranked recruit in program history.
On the transfer side, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Selton Miguel, and Rodney Rice have added veteran leadership, instant scoring, and consistent shooting from deep.
Returning for his fourth season, Julian Reese is a key piece of the front court with his experience and talent. Regarded as one of the top front court players in the conference, Reese reached 1,000 career points last season and could hit 1,000 rebounds for his career this year.
Along with Reese, the development of DeShawn Harris-Smith, one of the top Power 5 true freshmen last year, and with Jordan Geronimo returning, they are providing key experience for the Terps. The return from injury of Chance Stephens adds another perimeter threat, while transfers Tafara Gapare and Jay Young provide athletic depth and dynamic defense to the line-up.
This was a total team win that Maryland was up 33-points at halftime (50-17) and as much as 40-points in this game. This wire-to-wire victory in the Terps’ Big -Ten Conference opener at XFINITY Center moved the Terps to 8-1 on the season and their fifth straight win.
