COLLEGE PARK, MD – No. 18 Maryland men's basketball used an all-around effort to defeat Rutgers, 90-81, at XFINITY Center on Sunday. Maryland, No. 16 in the NCAA NET, improved to 18-6 overall and 8-5 in Big Ten play. The Terps are also 14-1 at home this season, tied for the third-most wins among all Division I schools. Only St. John's (15-0) and Missouri (15-1) have more.
Four Terps scored in double figures, led by
Derik Queen's career-high 29 points. It was the most points by a Maryland freshman since Diamond Stone had 39 against Penn State in 2015. The Terps broke away from the Scarlet Knights midway through the first half and remained in control the rest of the game. The tide turned with a 3-pointer by
Selton Miguel at the 10:40 mark to take a 19-18 lead. Maryland proceeded to outscore Rutgers 30-20 for the remainder of the first half to lead 49-38. The 49 points were Maryland's second most ever in a half of a Big Ten game. It trails its 50 points against Ohio State on Dec. 4, 2024, this season.
Rutgers rallied to make it a three-point game (56-53) at the 14:03 second-half mark, but Maryland quickly re-established its lead. The charge to regain control of the game was led by Queen and Rodney Rice, who tallied a combined 28 points in the second half. Rice converted a key four-point play at 13:07 that put the Terps back up by nine. They never led by less than two possessions the rest of the game.
It was Queen's eighth 20-point game. He also recorded 15 rebounds, earning the seventh double-double of his freshman season. He recorded his double-double in the first half alone, where he scored 13 points and 10 rebounds. It was his second time accomplishing that feat, also doing so in Maryland's season opener against Canisius.
Since 1993-94, Queen is one of just 13 Terps to post a double-double in their rookie seasons. He has the third most in that span. The freshman also dished out five assists and blocked a shot, showcasing his all-around ability. He was the first player in the Big Ten to post 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists this season.
Miguel scored 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three to go along with three rebounds and two assists. The trio of Miguel, Rice and
Ja'Kobi Gillespie were on fire from the floor. Rice scored 19 points overall, followed by Gillespie's 14. They all combined to shoot 10-of-23 (43.5%) from the three-point line.
Jordan Geronimo was a key contributor off the bench. In 15 minutes of action, he scored four points, grabbed five rebounds, and collected two blocks and two steals. His defensive presence was pivotal, and he provided energy with a couple of rim-rattling dunks.
Rutgers faltered to 12-12 overall and 5-8 in Big Ten play. The Terps held the Scarlet Knights' freshman duo of Ace Bailey (20.1 PPG) and Dylan Harper (19.1 PPG) in check. Bailey posted a season-low four points, leaving the game midway through the second half.
Harper led Rutgers with 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Dylan Grant posted 19 points and eight rebounds.
Willard's Take
"I've seen that all year," Willard said of Queen's performance. "The first game he played in college, I think he had 22 and 20, so I don't think it matters who's playing or who's watching. He's just that good of a player. He went to Purdue and had 26, so this is nothing surprising."
From The Guys
"I knew I had to be better," Queen said regarding his last outing. "I felt like things was going my way, and my teammates just kept giving me the ball and trusting me to make plays. Last game, we just slipped up, missed some free throws. We basically gave the game away. So we knew we had to come back and then just put that foot on their neck."
Breaking Down The Action
- Maryland took a 7-6 lead heading into the first media timeout at the 15:21 mark. Derik Queen threw a full-court outlet pass to Julian Reese, who finished a left-handed layup through contact. Ja'Kobi Gillespie drilled a three a few plays earlier.
- Rutgers took a 14-7 lead, forcing Kevin Willard to burn a timeout at 13:35. Out of the timeout, Selton Miguel and Gillespie drilled back-to-back 3-pointers, and Queen finished a second-chance dunk despite being fouled. Maryland trailed 16-15 with a chance to tie with a free throw out of a media timeout at 11:59 by Queen.
- Maryland took the lead with a three by Miguel. It then went on a 6-0 run in just over a minute, making three straight shots from the floor to lead 32-22 with 6:40 to play. Jordan Geronimo threw down back-to-back rim-rattling dunks that energized the crowd.
- Queen posted a first-half double-double, and four Terps had seven or more points entering the locker room as Maryland led 49-38. Miguel paced all scorers with 14. His last made shot occurred with 28 seconds to play. He canned a long 3-pointer with a hand in his face. The 49 points were also Maryland's second most in program history for the first half of a Big Ten game.
- Rutgers brought the game within six as Maryland led 54-48 at the 16:37 mark in the second half. The Scarlet Knights ignited an 8-0 run, forcing a Maryland timeout.
- The Scarlet Knights brought the game within three points (56-53) at 14:03, but a four-point-play by Rodney Rice a few plays later gave Maryland a 65-56 lead.
- Queen threw down a putback dunk over a defender's head to put Maryland up 69-62 and force Rutgers to burn a timeout at 9:09. Queen was one of four Terps with 12 or more points.
- The Terps led by more than two possessions the rest of the way and came away with a win.
Double-Figure Factors
- Derik Queen scored a career-high 29 points, scoring double-digit points for the 18th time in his freshman season.
- Rodney Rice netted 19 points and scored in double digits for his 20th career game. It was his 17th game in double figures as a Terp this season.
- Selton Miguel tallied 17 points and earned his 77th career game in double figures. It was his 17th as a Terp this season. He leads the Terps in double-digit scoring games and scoring overall with 1,466 career points in his five-year career.
- Ja'Kobi Gillespie scored 14 points and earned his 59th career game in double figures. It was his 19th game scoring double digits this season. He has the most double-figure scoring games amongst all Terps this season.
Queen Of The Court
- Derik Queen scored a career-high 29 points while grabbing 15 rebounds, earning his seventh 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 third most double-doubles in that span behind Joe Smith (20 from 1993-94) and Jordan Williams (eight from 2009-10).
- He scored the most points by a Maryland freshman since Diamond Stone had 39 against Penn State in 2015.
- Queen's points per game mark (15.5) is in the top five among Maryland freshmen dating back to 1947-48. Joe Smith has the best per-game mark (19.4). Furthermore, 18 of the top 26 freshmen scorers in program history were NBA Draft picks.
- Since 2008-09, there have been over 34 20-point games by Maryland freshmen. In 23 games, Queen has eight. It's the second most in that span behind Melo Trimble (10).
- Queen even was the first player in the Big Ten to post 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists this season.
Home Cooking
- Maryland is 325-76 all-time at the XFINITY Center, including 40-8 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 14-1 at home, tied for the third-most home wins among all Division I teams. Only St. John's (15-0) and Missouri (15-1) have 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
- 2: Queen posted his second first-half double-double.
- 5: All five of Maryland's starters average double-digit points.
- 5: Reese is one of five players in program history to record over 1,300 career points and 900 career rebounds.
- 7: Queen notched his seventh career double-double.
- 8: Queen has eight 20-point games this season.
- 9: This was the ninth time this season that Maryland made 10 or more 3-pointers in a game.
- 13: In scoring 40 first-half points, Maryland scored 40+ points in the first half for the 13th time this season.
- 14: The Terps are 14-1 at home this season.
- 16: The Terps are ranked No. 16 in the NET Rankings.
- 16: The Terps are 16-8 all-time against the Scarlet Knights.
- 18: Maryland is ranked No. 18 in this week's AP Poll.
- 29: Queen tallied a career-high with 29 points. It was the most points by a Maryland freshman since Diamond Stone had 39 against Penn State in 2015.
- 49: Maryland's 49 points in the first half were its second most in program history in a Big Ten game.
- 457: The Terps have now made a 3-pointer in 457 consecutive games.
- 1,466: Miguel leads the Terps with 1,466 career points in his five-year career.
Up Next
- Maryland will play at Nebraska on Feb. 13. The game will tip off at 8:30 p.m. EST and be televised on the Big Ten Network and broadcast on Maryland Sports Radio Network.
