No. 18/24 Maryland (17-6, 7-5 B1G) vs. Rutgers (12-11, 5-7 B1G)
February 9, 2025
12 p.m.
XFINITY Center
COLLEGE PARK, MD -- No. 18 Maryland looks to bounce back on Sunday afternoon as Rutgers visits the XFINITY Center. The game will be televised on BTN (12 PM) and fans can also listen on the Maryland Sports Radio Network with Voice of the Terps
Johnny Holliday calling the action alongside Chris Knoche and Walt Williams.
This will be the annual Black Out game with a special Stranger Things theme.
Maryland has now won four of its last five 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. 13 on EvanMiya.com, and No. 19 on the ESPN BPI.
At home this season, the Terps have won 10 straight games including five consecutive Big Ten games. Including the Rutgers game, five of Maryland's final eight regular-season games will come at home.
Maryland is averaging 85.3 points per game at home and outscoring opponents by just over 25 points per game - the fourth-highest differential by a power conference team. The 13 home wins are the third-most by a power conference team as well.
Promotions:
- BLACKOUT: Join us for the annual Blackout game! All 4,000 students will receive a Blackout t-shirt and newspaper. Stay tuned for special giveaways and videoboard assets that will make this themed game come to life!
- Halftime: Stay in your seats for a special halftime performance from Mutts Gone Nuts!
- Sunday Shoutout: Fans can purchase four tickets and a video board shoutout for just $100!
Big Note: The Big Five
- 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 (15.0), Ja'Kobi Gillespie (14.3), Julian Reese (14.1), Rodney Rice (13.0), Selton Miguel (11.3).
- Maryland's five starters -- the team's five leading scorers -- have a combined scoring average of 67.7, the highest among all major conference programs. Next on the list among major conference programs is Villanova with a combined average of 66.6. Only Bryant (68.2) and UNC Asheville (68.0) have a higher scoring average among all five top scorers in all of Division I.
Maryland is averaging 82.5 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 18 of his 22 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 108 total assists (4.7 per game) giving him 320 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 4.7 assists per game rank 6th in the B1G.
- Gillespie now has 1,064 career points between Belmont and Maryland through 80 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 3.3 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
