COLLEGE PARK, MD – No. 20 Maryland men's basketball defeated USC, 88-71, in a wire-to-wire win at XFINITY Center on Thursday. Maryland, No. 14 in the NCAA NET, improved to 21-6 overall and 11-5 in Big Ten play. The Terps have now won four straight and eight of their last nine games. The Terps are also 16-1 at home this season, tied for the second-most wins among all Division I schools. Only Missouri (17-1) has more home wins than the Terps.
The Terps opened the game on an 11-0 run and never trailed at any point in the contest. They led by as many as 20 at 15:21 in the second quarter. The Trojans later rallied to bring the game within six midway through the second half, but Maryland
Ja'Kobi Gillespie and
Rodney Rice combined for 26 second-half points to put the Trojans away.
Gillespie totaled 20 points on the night, shooting 7-of-12 overall from the floor, including 5-of-8 from beyond the three-point line. His five 3-pointers tied his career-high. It was his sixth game this season with 20 or more points, and he added four assists to get his teammates involved. One of those teammates, who plays in the backcourt with him, was Rice. The sophomore added 22 points, four rebounds and two assists overall. It was his fourth career game with 20 or more points, all occurring this season.
Julian Reese patrolled the paint area throughout the contest, making a presence on both ends of the floor. He recorded 19 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. He posted the 35th double-double of his career, which is the fifth most double-doubles in program history. The senior big man also entered the top 25 on the program's all-time scoring list. He leapfrogged Terrapin greats Will Hetzel, Exree Hipp and Gene Shue.
Derik Queen posted the 10th double-double of his freshman season, recording one in his fourth straight game. He posted 13 points and 17 rebounds. Since 1993-94, he's one of just 13 Terps to post a double-double in their rookie seasons. Queen has the second most double-doubles in that span behind Joe Smith (20 from 1993-94). He now also ranks fifth on the program's freshman scoring list.
This was the fifth time this season Reese and Queen posted a double-double together and their fourth straight game doing so. The five times is the most between any duo in college basketball.
Selton Miguel was the fifth and final Terp to score in double figures, scoring 10. This was the sixth time all five starters scored in double figures this season, the most in the country. They have accomplished the feat in three straight games.
USC (14-12, 6-9 Big Ten) was led by Wesley Yates III's 21 points. Maryland held the Trojans' leading scorer, Desmond Claude (16.0 PPG), to just seven points on 2-of-6 shooting.
Maryland is 4-0 all-time against USC. This was the two school's first matchup since No. 28, 1990.
Willard's Take
"I just like the way they're playing," head coach Kevin Willard said. "I think they do have a lot of confidence. I like our defensive intensity more than anything. More than anything, I like the fact that we can throw the ball inside on a consistent basis."
From The Guys
"I feel like every game we get to a point every game where if we just lock in defensively, we will win, especially when you have a lead like we did," Rice said. "Locking down defensively is a focal point for us."
Breaking Down The Action
- Two 3-pointers were used to begin the game by Ja'Kobi Gillespie and Selton Miguel. They forced USC to take an early timeout just 2:33 into the game.
- The Terps stretched their lead to 15-3 at the 15:41 media timeout. All five of Maryalnd's starters were already in the scoring column.
- USC closed the gap, as Maryland led 23-17 at the 7:27 media timeout. Julian Reese led Maryland with six points as seven different Terps entered the scoring column.
- Maryland maintained its lead by 10 points to close out the half, standing at 37-27. It went into halftime with a 7-0 run. Gillespie led all Terps with nine points.
- The Terps went on a 15-5 run to begin the second half. Rodney Rice and Reese each scored five to lead the Terps. As a team, Maryland made six of its last eight shots from the floor, forcing USC to burn a timeout at 16:31.
- The Trojans sparked a 10-0 run to cut the Terps' lead to 54-44 at the 13:50 mark. They made their last five shots from the floor.
- The Terps regained control, as Gillespie reached 20 points to lead a trio of Terps to record 15+ points. They led 80-66 with 3:38 left to play.
Double-Figure Factors
- Rodney Rice netted 22 points and scored in double digits for his 23rd career game. It was his 20th game in double figures as a Terp this season.
- Ja'Kobi Gillespie scored 20 points and earned his 62nd career game in double figures. It was his 22nd game scoring double digits this season. He has the most double-figure scoring games amongst all Terps this season.
- Julian Reese recorded 19 points for his 75th career game in double digits. He has scored double figures for the 19th time this season.
- Derik Queen scored 13 points, scoring double-digit points for the 21st time in his freshman season.
- Selton Miguel tallied 10 points and earned his 81st career game in double figures. It was his 20th as a Terp this season. He leads the Terps in double-digit scoring games and scoring overall with 1,510 career points in his five-year career.
Juju Beast
- Julian Reese scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, recording his 35th career double-double and his 13th of the season.
- He ranks fifth in program history in double-doubles. Next on the list is Joe Smith (38 from 1994-95). Since 1996-97, Reese has the most double-doubles of any Terp in program history.
- Reese moved to 25th all-time in program history for scoring with 1,387 points. He passed Will Hetzel (1370 from 1967-70), Exree Hipp (1372 from 1992-96) and Gene Shue (1384 from 1951-54).
- He has 938 rebounds in his career, which is fourth on Maryland's all-time rebounds list. Next on the list is Derrick Lewis (948 from 1984-88).
- The big man blocked two shots, ranking eighth on Maryland's all-time blocked shots list with 166 in his career. Joe Smith ranks seventh with 190 blocks from 1993-95.
- Reese has over 1,300 points and 900 rebounds in his career. He's one of five players in program history who reached those career thresholds.
Queen Of The Court
- Derik Queen scored 13 points while grabbing 17 rebounds, earning his 10th career double-double. Since 1993-94, he's one of just 13 Terps to post a double-double in their rookie seasons. He has the second most double-doubles in that span behind Joe Smith (20 from 1993-94).
- Queen's points per game mark (15.9) is third among Maryland freshmen from 1947-48. Joe Smith (19.4) and Melo Trimble (16.2) are the only ones who averaged more points. Furthermore, 18 of the top 26 freshmen scorers in program history were NBA Draft picks.
- The freshman is fifth on the program's freshman scoring list, with 428 points this season. He passed John Lucas (425 points in 1972-73), and next on the list is Diamond Stone (436 in 2015-16).
The Fearsome Five
- Maryland's starters, dubbed "The Crab Five" on social media, combined to score 85 of its 88 points in the game. The scoring amongst the starters was as follows: Rodney Rice (22 points), Ja'Kobi Gillespie (20 points), Julian Reese (19 points), Derik Queen (13 points) and Selton Miguel (11 points).
- 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: Queen (15.9), Gillespie (14.9), Reese (14.0), Rice (13.7) and Miguel (12.0).
- Maryland's five starters — the team's five leading scorers — have a combined scoring average of 70.4, the highest among all major conference programs.
- This was the sixth time all five starters scored in double figures this season, surpassing Kentucky and tying Washington State for the most such games by any program. They have accomplished the feat in three straight games.
Home Cooking
- Maryland is 326-76 all-time at the XFINITY Center, including 41-8 under Kevin Willard. Under Willard, the Terps have six home Top-25 victories, highlighted by the 2022-23 win over No. 3 Purdue.
- This season, the Terps are 16-1 at home, tied for the second-most home wins among all Division I teams. Only Missouri (17-1) has more home wins than the Terps.
- Maryland's 16-1 home record in 2022-23 was the best since 2019-20 and the eighth time overall that the Terps had won 16 or more games at home. In 2012-13 and 2014-15, the Terps won 18 games at home, going 18-3 and 18-1, respectively.
- Maryland won a program-record 14 consecutive Big Ten conference games at XFINITY, including all 10 games in 2022-23 and the final three of 2021-22.
Numbers And Nuggets
- 4: Maryland is 4-0 all-time vs. USC.
- 4: The Terps are 4-1 in Quad two games this season.
- 4: 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.
- 4: Maryland is on a four-game win streak.
- 5: This was the fifth time this season that Queen and Reese posted a double-double.
- 5: Gillespie's five 3-pointers tied his career-high.
- 5: Reese is one of five players in program history to record over 1,300 points and 900 career rebounds.
- 6: The win was the Terps' sixth wire-to-wire victory this season.
- 6: This was the sixth time all five starters scored in double-figures this season.
- 8: Maryland has won eight of its last nine games.
- 10: Queen notched his 10th career double-double.
- 13: Gillespie has 14 20-point games in his career, including six this season.
- 14: The Terps are ranked No. 14 in the NET Rankings.
- 16: The Terps are 16-1 at home this season.
- 20: Maryland is ranked No. 20 in this week's AP Poll.
- 25: Reese is now among the top 25 scorers in program history.
- 28: The Terps have 28 10-0 or better runs this year.
- 35: Reese posted his 35th career double-double, ranking fifth in program history.
- 460: The Terps have now made a 3-pointer in 460 consecutive games.
- 1,510: Miguel leads the Terps with 1,510 career points in his five-year career.
Up Next
- Maryland will remain in College Park on Feb. 26 to play No. 14 Michigan State at XFINITY Center. The game will tip off at 6:30 p.m., be televised on the Big Ten Network, and be broadcast on the Maryland Sports Radio Network.
