Maryland (11-4, 1-3 B1G) vs. #22 UCLA (11-4, 2-2 B1G)
January 10, 2025
8:00 p.m.
XFINITY Center
COLLEGE PARK, MD -- Maryland returns home from its West Coast swing trip to host No. 22 UCLA on Friday night at XFINITY Center. The game will tip at 8 PM on FOX. Fans can listen to the game on the Maryland Sports Radio Network with Voice of the Terps
Johnny Holliday calling the action alongside Chris Knoche and Walt Williams.
The Terps dropped their second straight Big Ten game on Sunday, 83-79, at No. 9 Oregon.
Rodney Rice led Maryland with 19 points, while
Derik Queen and
Ja'Kobi Gillespie added 17 and 16 points, respectively.
All of Maryland's losses this season have come by six-or-fewer points with an average of 4.75 per game. Two of the losses were on the road against Top 10 ranked opponents (at #8 Purdue, at #9 Oregon).
Maryland is ranked No. 23 in the NCAA NET, No. 24 in the Kenpom ratings, No. 18 in the Torvik ranking, No. 25 on EvanMiya.com, and No. 24 on the ESPN Basketball Power Index.
Maryland has been explosive offensively averaging 85.5 points this year which ranks as the sixth-best average in program history and ranks No. 17 nationally this season. Defensively, the Terps are giving up just 63.5 points per game which is 23rd nationally.
Promotions:
- Tipoff the New Year: Don't miss the first game back at XFINITY Center in 2025!
- Halftime: Start jumping! The Kangaroo Kids will perform at halftime!
- Secure the lowest-cost ticket in the arena and sit on The Wall for just $45! PLUS, the first 2,000 fans on The Wall vs. #15 UCLA will get a free t-shirt, courtesy of Ledo Pizza! - CLICK HERE TO BUY
Big Notes: UnCommon Coastal Rivalry
- Of the four new additions to the Big Ten, Maryland and UCLA continue to build on their history dating back to 1973. This will mark the third straight year the teams have met during the regular season after UCLA won in College Park in 2022-23 and the Terps won in Westwood in 2023-24.
- Maryland and UCLA have a long history dating to when Hall of Fame Maryland head coach Lefty Driesell famously declared the Terrapins had the 'potential to be the UCLA of the East Coast' when he was introduced as Maryland's head coach in 1969. The teams met for their first home-and-home during the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons when both teams were ranked in the top-5 at the time of the games. UCLA won both games as the No. 1 Bruins edged the No. 4 Terrapins, 65-64 on Dec. 1, 1973, in Westwood. A year later at Cole Field House, No. 3 UCLA beat No. 5 Maryland, 81-75 on Dec. 28, 1974.
- The teams played another pair of games in the early 1980s with UCLA beating the Terps 90-57 at Pauley Pavilion on Dec. 29, 1981. Maryland won its first game in the series, upsetting the then-No. 3 Bruins, 80-79, on Dec. 23, 1982, at Cole Field House in double-overtime.
- The teams have played four games at neutral sites since with Maryland winning a Top-10 match-up on Nov. 27, 1998, as the No. 5 Terps beat the No. 10 Bruins, 70-54, in Puerto Rico. The last meeting came on Nov. 19, 2007, in Kansas City as part of the College Basketball Experience Classic as the No. 1-ranked Bruins beat Maryland, 71-57.
Maryland is averaging 85.5 points per game which is the sixth-best mark in program history.
Ja'Kobi Showing The Range
- Since joining the Terps, Ja'Kobi Gillespie has scored in double figures in 11 of his 15 games played.
- Against No. 15 Marquette, Gillespie had a season-high 24 points going 10-of-17 from the floor and 4-of-9 from three-point range. That total was just two shy of matching his career-high of 26 points scored against Southern Illinois (2/14/24) when he was at Belmont.
- Gillespie also leads the team with 62 total assists (4.1 per game) giving him 274 for his career. He set a new career-high with 11 in the win over Syracuse as part of his first career double-double (17 pts). The 11 assists were the most by a Maryland player in a game since Melo Trimble had 12 against North Carolina (12/2/15).
- His 4.1 assists per game are tied for 9th in the B1G.
- Gillespie now has 931 career points between Belmont and Maryland through 72 total career games played.
- A highly-touted football prospect while in high school, Gillespie received offers from ACC and SEC programs on the gridiron. As a wide receiver, defensive back, and special teams returner, he pulled off a touchdown trifecta with a receiving touchdown, a pick-six, and a punt return in a single-game.
Ja'Kobi Gillespie averaged 20.5 points and 4.0 assists in his first two Big Ten games while going 8-of-15 from three-point range.
Juju Beast
- Julian Reese entered the 2024-25 campaign as one of the top post players in the Big Ten and nationally. Last season, he earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors as a junior after being named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team and to the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award Watch List.
- Reese posted 15 double doubles last season which were the ninth most nationally and stood second in the Big Ten during the regular season.
- All-time, Reese has the eighth-most double-doubles for any Terp (28).
- Reese is one of nine players in program history to post over 1,100 career points and 800 career rebounds.
- Despite having a talented group of high-scoring guards and the addition of Derik Queen to the front court, Julian Reese has nearly matched his career-high totals from last season. Even more impressive is that Reese has been hitting these marks playing 7.3 fewer minutes per game than last year.
- Additionally, his 3.5 offensive rebounds per game leads the Big Ten and are the most for a Maryland player since Jordan Williams averaged 3.7 in 2010-11.
Queen Is The Truth
- Derik Queen arrived in College Park as one of the most heralded recruits in program history and has lived up to the hype early in the season. From starting his career with a 20/20 double-double to scoring a career-high 26 points at No. 8 Purdue, Queen has quickly shown he is one of the best players in the country.
- Queen leads Maryland in scoring at 16.0 points per game and is second with 8.0 rebounds per game. His scoring average is third-best among all-time Maryland freshmen dating back to 1947-48.
- Since 2008-09, there have been 34 20-point games by Maryland freshmen. In just his first 15 games, Queen already has five.
- Since 1996-96, Derik Queen's career-high 26-point performance at No. 8 Purdue marked the most points scored by a Maryland freshman in a true road game since Terrell Stoglin and Justin Jackson each scored 28 points in 2011 and 2017, respectively.
- Queen is part of an exceptional class of 2024-25 freshmen. He is now 10th for overall rookie scoring and is the top center among all NCAA freshmen. Queen is one of five freshmen nationally to score 20 points or more in five games this season.
