No. 25/25 Maryland (18-6, 8-5 B1G) at Nebraska (16-8, 6-7 B1G)
February 13, 2025
8:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. CT)
Pinnacle Bank Arena
COLLEGE PARK, MD -- Coming off a win on Sunday against Rutgers, No. 25 Maryland returns to the road to take on Nebraska on Thursday night. The game will be televised on BTN (8:30 PM ET) and fans can also listen on the Maryland Sports Radio Network with Voice of the Terps
Johnny Holliday calling the action alongside Chris Knoche. The game will be the second of the year between the two teams after the Terps won 69-66 on Jan. 19 in College Park.
Maryland has now won five of its last six games, has five Quad 1 victories, and has three top-25 wins on its resume for the season. The Terps are ranked No. 16 in the NCAA NET, No. 18 in the Kenpom ratings, No. 15 in the Torvik ranking, No. 15 on EvanMiya.com, and No. 19 on the ESPN BPI.
At home this season, the Terps have won 11 straight games including six consecutive Big Ten games. Four of Maryland's final seven regular-season games will come at home.
Big Note: Getting Out To A Quick Start
- Maryland is averaging 82.8 points per game and are outscoring opponents by 16.3 points per game. The bulk of Maryland's offense has been bolstered by fast starts as the Terps average 41.5 points in the first half of games. That ranks fourth nationally and is the best average for a Big Ten team over the last 15 seasons.
- Maryland is one of four major conference programs with all five starters scoring double-figures while starting at least 50 percent of the team's games. Joining the Terps are Arizona State, Kentucky and Michigan. The Terps' five consists of: Derik Queen (15.5), Ja'Kobi Gillespie (14.3), Julian Reese (13.7), Rodney Rice (13.2), Selton Miguel (11.5). Maryland's five starters -- the team's five leading scorers -- have a combined scoring average of 68.2, the highest among all major conference programs.
Maryland is averaging 82.8 points per game which is the 10th-best mark in program history.
Ja'Kobi Showing The Range
- Since joining the Terps, Ja'Kobi Gillespie has scored in double figures in 19 of his 23 games played.
- Against No. 22 UCLA, Gillespie set a season-high with 27 points going 4-of-8 from deep and 9-of-9 from the charity stripe. He also had four assists and a season-high four steals in the win.
- Against No. 15 Marquette, Gillespie had 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 leads the team with 111 total assists (4.6 per game) giving him 323 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 4.6 assists per game rank 6th in the B1G.
- Gillespie now has 1,078 career points between Belmont and Maryland through 81 total career games played. He scored his 1,000th career point on a buzzer-beating three-pointer before halftime of the Nebraska (1/19) win.
- 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.
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 is tied for the seventh-most double-doubles for any Terp (32).
- Reese is one of five players in program history to post over 1,300 career points and 900 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 5.0 fewer minutes per game than last year.
- Additionally, his 3.2 offensive rebounds per game leads the Big Ten and are the most for a Maryland player since James Padgett averaged 3.3 in 2011-12.
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 29 points against Rutgers in front of 47 NBA Scouts, Queen has shown he is one of the best in the country.
- Queen leads Maryland in scoring at 15.5 points per game and is second with 8.5 rebounds per game. His scoring average is the third-best among all-time Maryland freshmen dating back to 1947-48.
- Since 2008-09, there have been 38 20-point games by Maryland freshmen. In just his first 24 games, Queen already has eight.
- 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 in overall rookie scoring and is the top center among all NCAA freshmen. Queen is one of eight freshmen nationally to score 20 points or more in eight games this season.
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With a 29-point, 15-rebound, 5-assist statline vs. Rutgers, Derik Queen became the first freshman in the nation since 2002 to produce 25-15-5 in a single game. He was also one of just three players of any class in the Big Ten to do have such a game since 2008.
