Battle of the Titans: No. 24 Maryland Clashes with No. 9 Oregon This Sunday!

#24 Maryland (11-3, 1-2 B1G) at #9 Oregon (12-2, 1-2 B1G)

COLLEGE PARK, MD — No. 24 Maryland wraps up its West Coast swing on Sunday afternoon during its inaugural visit to Oregon. The matchup will commence at 1 PM PT (4 PM ET) on Peacock. Supporters can tune in to the game on the Maryland Sports Radio Network, with the Voice of the Terps, Johnny Holliday, narrating the action alongside Chris Knoche.

The Terps returned to Big Ten competition on Thursday evening, facing a 75-69 defeat at Washington. Julian Reese topped all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while Selton Miguel and Rodney Rice contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Maryland holds a No. 17 standing in the NCAA NET, No. 24 in Kenpom ratings, No. 17 in Torvik rankings, No. 22 on EvanMiya.com, and No. 22 on the ESPN Basketball Power Index.

Maryland has exhibited offensive prowess this season, averaging 85.9 points, which ranks as the fifth-best in program history and 17th nationally. Defensively, the Terps are conceding just 62.1 points per game, placing 15th nationally and the top mark for the program since the 1981-82 season.

 

Significant Notes: Go West, Young Men

• While it will become customary moving forward, this marks the second consecutive season Maryland has participated in a genuine road game on the West Coast. The Terps triumphed over UCLA last season at Pauley Pavilion with a score of 69-60 on December 22.
• Before that, Maryland had not engaged in a true road game in the Pacific Time Zone since February 19, 1990, when they secured a 64-62 victory at USC.
• Prior to the Oregon matchup, Maryland has only played seven genuine road games on the West Coast: USC (1990), Washington (2025), UNLV (1978, 1985), and UCLA (1973, 1981, 2023). The Terps hold a 2-5 record in those contests.

Maryland is boasting an average of 85.9 points per game, which stands as the fifth-best figure in program history.

Ja’Kobi Showcasing His Range

• Since joining the Terps, Ja’Kobi Gillespie has recorded double figures in scoring in 10 of his 14 appearances. 
• Against No. 15 Marquette, Gillespie achieved a season-high of 24 points, shooting 10-of-17 from the field and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. This total was just two short of matching his career-high of 26 points scored against Southern Illinois (2/14/24) during his time at Belmont.
• Gillespie also directs the team with 60 total assists (4.3 per game), accumulating 272 for his career. He set a new career record with 11 in the victory against Syracuse while marking his first career double-double (17 pts). The 11 assists were the highest for a Maryland player in a game since Melo Trimble posted 12 against North Carolina (12/2/15).
• His average of 4.3 assists per contest ranks 9th in the B1G, but he has stepped up recently, averaging 6.0 per game over his last six matches.
• Gillespie has amassed 915 career points between Belmont and Maryland across 71 career games.
• A highly regarded football prospect during high school, Gillespie received recruitment offers from ACC and SEC teams in football. As a wide receiver, defensive back, and special teams return specialist, he accomplished a touchdown trifecta with a receiving touchdown, a pick-six, and a punt return in a single match.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie has been averaging 20.5 points and 4.0 assists in his initial two Big Ten games, shooting 8-of-15 from three-point territory.

Juju Powerhouse

• Julian Reese commenced the 2024-25 season as one of the top post players in both the Big Ten and nationally. Last year, he received All-Big Ten Honorable Mention accolades as a junior, after being selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team and the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award Watch List.
• Reese recorded 15 double-doubles last season, which ranked ninth nationally and placed second in the Big Ten during the regular season.
• Historically, Reese holds the eighth-most double-doubles for any Terp (28).
• Reese stands among nine players in the program’s history to surpass 1,100 career points and 800 career rebounds.
• Despite being surrounded by a skilled group of high-scoring guards and the arrival of Derik Queen to the frontcourt, Julian Reese has nearly equaled his career-high figures from last season while notably playing 7.4 fewer minutes per game than a year ago.
• Moreover, his average of 3.5 offensive rebounds per game leads the Big Ten and represents the highest average for a Maryland player since Jordan Williams averaged 3.7 in 2010-11.

Queen Is The Reality

• Derik Queen arrived in College Park as one of the most celebrated recruits in the history of the program and has fulfilled the expectations early this season. From initiating his career with a 20/20 double-double to achieving a career-high 26 points against No. 8 Purdue, Queen has rapidly demonstrated that he ranks among the best players in the nation.
• Queen leads Maryland in scoring with an average of 15.9 points per game and ranks second with 8.2 rebounds per game. His scoring benchmark is third-best among all-time Maryland freshmen dating back to 1947-48.
• Since 2008-09, there have been 34 instances of freshmen scoring 20 points for Maryland. In just his first 14 games, Queen has already recorded five.
• Since the 1996-97 season, Derik Queen’s career-high performance of 26 points against No. 8 Purdue marked the highest points by a Maryland freshman in a genuine road game since Terrell Stoglin and Justin Jackson each netted 28 points in 2011 and 2017, respectively.
• Queen is part of an outstanding incoming class of freshmen for the 2024-25 season. He currently ranks 11th in overall rookie scoring and is the leading center among all NCAA freshmen. Queen stands as one of five freshmen nationally to accumulate 20 or more points in five games this season.