INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 11-ranked and No. 2-seeded Maryland men's basketball advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals, crushing No. 24 ranked and No. 7 seed Illinois, 88-65, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday. The +23 margin of victory was its largest in Big Ten Tournament history. The win improved Maryland, No. 12 in the NCAA NET, to 25-7, winning eight of its last nine and 12 of its last 14 games. Since Jan. 10, the Terps are 14-3.
Maryland will be playing in the Big Ten Semifinals for the third time in history and the first time since 2016. The Terps will play No. 3 seed and 22nd-ranked Michigan on Saturday, March 15, at approximately 3:30 p.m. on CBS. The winner will advance to the championship game, which will tip off on Sunday, March 16, at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.
Maryland went wire-to-wire, leading from start to finish. The major catalyst was a 13-0 run from the 14:34 mark to the 10:25 mark of the first quarter. The early kill-shot set the tone, and the Terps led 57-31 at halftime. The 57 points in the first half were Maryland's most in a first half for any conference tournament game in program history. It surpassed the 56 points scored in 1980, as No. 1 Maryland went on to defeat No. 4 Clemson, 91-85 at Greensboro Coliseum. It was also the second-most points by any team in a Big Ten Tournament game, as Iowa scored 64 first-half points in 2022. The Terps led by as many as 36 points at 9:41 in the second frame.
Rodney Rice poured in a game-high 26 points on 7-of-9 shooting from three as the Illini (21-12) struggled to contain him all night. The sophomore's 26 points tied for the most points in a Big Ten Tournament game since Jake Layman scored 26 against Nebraska in 2016. Rice's seven 3-pointers were also the most by a Terp in a conference tournament game ever. This was Rice's sixth career 20+ point game, recording all this season.
Big Ten Freshman of the Year Derik Queen posted his 14th double-double of the season, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Queen has the most double-doubles by a Maryland freshman since Joe Smith, who had 20 in 1993-94. Queen became the first Terp to record a double-double in the Big Ten Tournament.
All Big Ten Third Team selection, Ja'Kobi Gillespie, added 12 points, nine assists, two rebounds and two steals. His nine assists are the most by a Terp in Big Ten Tournament history.
Jordan Geronimo came off the bench and contributed 26 valuable minutes. He scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and recorded five steals. It was just his second time scoring double-digit points this season. He last accomplished the feat on Jan. 2 at Washington.
Julian Reese was the fifth Terp to score in double figures. The senior scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.
As a team, Maryland shot 11-of-23 from three and won the turnover battle 17-3. It didn't commit its first turnover until 19:25 in the second half.
With their 25th victory of the season, Maryland has its most wins since going 27-9 in 2015-16, the last time the Terps advanced to the Sweet 16. The 25 wins also equaled a season-best for head coach Kevin Willard, who led Seton Hall to a 25-9 record in 2015-16, when the Pirates won the Big East Tournament Championship.
Willard's Take
"Really happy with the way we came out and played defensively, knowing they had played Iowa and it was almost like a good matchup for us because we're so much different than Iowa," Willard said. "But guys came out focused and good win."
From The Guys
"That might have been our best of the season, but that's a great job by us," Rice said regarding the team's three turnovers. "We got to do that moving forward too."
Breaking Down The Action
- The Terps led 11-6 at the first media timeout. They entered the break, making their last four shots from the floor. The Illini were just one-of-five from the floor with three turnovers.
- Maryland went on a 13-0 run leading into the 10:22 media timeout to lead 29-10. Rodney Rice made his first four 3-pointers to lead the Terps with 14 points. Jordan Geronimo also came off the bench to add five quick points, including a three heading into the break. It was just his second three made of the season.
- The Terps stretched their lead to 21 as Rice converted a four-point play at the 8:27 mark. The Illini scored on the other end, but Ja'Kobi Gillespie nailed a deep 3-pointer, and Maryland led 39-18 with 7:14 left in the first.
- Maryland led 57-31 at halftime. The 57 points broke Maryland's record for most points scored in the first half of any conference tournament game. Rice had a game-high 18 points.
- At the 15:24 media timeout, Illinois was in the middle of a 2:01 scoring drought. Maryland led 66-40.
- The Terps sparked another run of 10+. They led 80-48 at the 11:48 media timeout.
- The Terps closed out the game in dominating fashion, winning by a margin of +23 points.
Double-Figure Factors
- Rodney Rice netted 26 points and scored in double digits for his 27th career game. It was his 24th game in double figures as a Terp this season.
- Derik Queen scored 19 points, scoring double-digit points for the 26th time in his freshman season. It was his 11th straight game scoring in double figures. He's tied with Gillespie for the most double-digit scoring games this season.
- Ja'Kobi Gillespie scored 12 points and earned his 66th career game in double figures. It was his 26th game scoring double digits this season. He's tied with Queen for the most double-digit scoring games this season.
- Jordan Geronimo scored 11 points, recording his 16th career performance with double-digit points. It was his second time this season scoring double-digit points.
- Julian Reese recorded 10 points for his 77th career game in double digits. He has scored double figures for the 21th time this season.
Big Ten Tournament History
- Since joining the conference in 2014-15, the Terps are now 6-9 all-time in Big Ten Tournament games with this victory.
- The Terps are now 3-3 in the quarterfinals and 0-2 in the semifinals. The Terps reached the semifinals in both 2015 and 2016.
- Including a 47-57 record in ACC Tournament action, the Terps are now 53-66 all-time in all conference tournament games between the ACC and Big Ten.
- This was the first time Maryland and Illinois played in the Big Ten Tournament.
- Looking ahead to Saturday, Maryland has never played Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament and lost its only game against Michigan in the 2021 tournament (79-66 in the quarterfinals).
The Crab Five
- Maryland's starters, dubbed "The Crab Five" on social media, combined to score 73 of its 88 points in the game.
- The scoring amongst the starters was as follows: Rodney Rice (26 points), Derik Queen (19 points), Ja'Kobi Gillespie (12 points), Julian Reese (10 points), Selton Miguel (six 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. Arizona State, Kentucky and Michigan join the Terps. The Terps' five consists of: Queen (15.8), Gillespie (14.8), Rice (14.1), Reese (13.1), and Miguel (11.8).
- Maryland's five starters — the team's five leading scorers — have a combined scoring average of 69.6, the highest among all major conference programs.
Queen Of The Court
- Derik Queen scored 19 points while grabbing 10 rebounds, earning his 14th career double-double. He's one of just 13 Terps to post a double-double in their rookie seasons. He has the most double-doubles by a Maryland freshman since Joe Smith, who had 20 in 1993-94.
- Queen's points per game mark (15.8) 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 third on the program's freshman scoring list with 507 points this season. Next on the list is Melo Trimble, who scored 568 points in 2015.
- Queen is third on the freshman rebounding list with 294 boards. He broke a tie with Jordan Williams (284 in 2010). Second on the list is Joe Smith (322 from 1994).
Juju Beast
- Julian Reese scored 10 points, grabbing five rebounds and blocking one shot.
- Reese is 23rd all-time in program history for scoring with 1,430 points. Next on the list is Jake Layman (1436 from 2012-16).
- He has 981 rebounds in his career, ranking third on Maryland's all-time rebounds list. Second on the list is Lonny Baxter (998 from 1998-2002).
- The big man blocked one shot, ranking eighth on Maryland's all-time blocked shots list with 175 in his career. Joe Smith ranks seventh with 190 blocks from 1993-95.
- Reese has over 1,400 points and 900 rebounds in his career. He's one of five players in program history who reached those career thresholds.
Willard's Coaching Success
- With 25 wins this season, head coach Kevin Willard has matched his high for most wins for a single season. In 2015-16, he led Seton Hall to a 25-9 overall record as the Pirates won the Big East Tournament Championship.
- Willard's 14 league wins are the most of his career. His previous high mark was 13 at Seton Hall in 2019-20.
- He has 63 overall wins and 32 Big Ten conference wins in his first three seasons at Maryland. That marks the best opening three-year win total for any coach in Maryland history. The previous high was 54 by Lefty Driesell from 1969-72.
- His 32 league wins are tied for the most in an opening three-year stretch with Bud Millikan (1951-53).
Series With Illinois
- The Terps now lead the series with Illinois at 17-8, winning 12 of the last 15 meetings since 2016.
- This was their first meeting in the Big Ten Tournament.
- The Terps are now 3-4 against Illinois at neutral sites, breaking a three-game skid at neutral sites. Maryland's last win on a neutral court against the Illini was on Dec. 4, 1999, in Washington, D.C.
Postseason Honors
- Derik Queen was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He was also named to the All-Big Ten First Team by the coaches and Second Team by the media. He was a unanimous selection to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Queen is the first Terp since Melo Trimble in 2014-15 to earn All-Big Ten First Team honors.
- Ja'Kobi Gillespie was selected by the coaches and media as an All-Big Ten Third Team. This is his first year in the Big Ten after transferring from Belmont, which plays in the Missouri Valley Conference.
- Julian Reese earned honorable mention accolades from both coaches and media. This was his third time receiving the honor.
- Selton Miguel was chosen as the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree for Maryland.
Numbers And Nuggets
- 2: Maryland is the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament for the second time in program history.
- 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.
- 5: Reese is one of five players in program history to record over 1,400 points and 900 career rebounds.
- 5: Maryland has five wins over ranked teams this season.
- 6: This was Rice's sixth career 20+ point outing.
- 8: The Terps have eight Quad 1 wins this season.
- 11: This was Willard's 11th win over a ranked team as the Terps' head coach.
- 11: The Terps are ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll.
- 12: The Terps are ranked No. 12 in the NET Rankings.
- 14: Queen notched his 14th career double-double.
- 25: The Terps won their 25th game of the season, their most wins since going 27-9 in 2015-16.
- 25: Willard equaled his season-best for coaching wins in a season, as he went 25-9 with Seton Hall in 2015-16.
- 28: Queen and Reese have combined for 28 total double-doubles this season, the most of any combination in the nation.
- 30: The Terps have 30 10-0 or better runs this year.
- 63: Willard won his 63rd game this season, the most for any Maryland coach in the first three years of a Terrapin head coaching career.
- 218: Three-pointers by Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Selton Miguel and Rodney Rice - the most combined threes in a single season by a trio of Terps.
- 465: The Terps have now made a 3-pointer in 465 consecutive games.
- 1,568: Miguel leads the Terps with 1,568 career points in his five-year career.
Up Next
- Maryland will play No. 3 seed and 22nd-ranked Michigan Saturday, March 15, with a trip to the championship game on the line. The game will tip-off at approximately 3:30 p.m. and air on CBS and the Maryland Sports Radio Network.
