The BTN basketball crew dropped the F-words on Maryland
"But this starting five, this is enough for me to go on and get it – they can get to a Final Four, in my opinion."
The Maryland men's basketball team is receiving as much buzz as anyone in the Big Ten, and rightfully so.
The 20th-ranked Terps (20-6, 10-5 Big Ten) have been playing incredible basketball of late, winning their last three games, seven of their last eight games and nine of their last 11 games. Kevin Willard has a surefire NCAA Tournament team in College Park, and now it is just a matter of where the Terps finish in the Big Ten and how deep of a run they can make in March. They even dropped those F-words every Maryland fan's been waiting for decades: "Final Four."
"This starting five, this is enough for me to go on and get it – they can get to a Final Four, in my opinion," Rapheal Davis said.
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Davis and Dave Revsine were in studio for Monday's "B1G Today" show on Big Ten Network, and they were raving about the Terps.
"Michigan is rolling, so is Maryland," Revsine said. "They outscored Iowa by 30 points in the second half. You win a game by 26 that you were losing at halftime. And we talk about Derik Queen and Julian Reese, as well we should. It is a great frontcourt. But, man, their guards are good. To go three-for-three in the portal, that, to me, is what's so exceptional. To get three guys who need to start for you, and to hit grand slams with each one of them, that's tough. It's tough evaluation."
Davis had plenty of praise for Maryland's guards as well, putting the trio against any backcourt in the country.
"Unbelievable," Davis said. "Yeah, you look at Rodney Rice, the guy didn't even play last season. So Coach Willard did an awesome job in the transfer portal. I look at these three guards, and what I love so much about them, all three of them do something different on the offensive end, but all three of them can guard any position on the defensive end, around the perimeter. Ja'Kobi Gillespie was big-time [against Iowa]: 26 points, seven assists, five rebounds. John Beilein likes to talk about having a computer point guard, and that's exactly what Ja'Kobi Gillespie is. When you need a basket, he's going to give you one. When you need someone to get involved, he can give them the basketball.
"He's not afraid of those big-time moments. Rodney Rice is an absolute bucket. Can fill the bucket up with points. He can get out in transition. He can knock down the three. He's great in the mid-range. Rodney Rice goes on a personal 8-0 run against the Hawkeyes in the second half. And then Selton Miguel, he got the party started in the ballgame yesterday. You look at it, 17 points, five assists, 5 of 9 from the three-point line – just a dead-eye shooter. As a combination: 61 points, 16 assists, and they make 12 threes. And these guys guard. This is not just one of the best backcourts in the conference, but one of the best three-man backcourts in the country. They can all beat you. They can all have big games. But when they play like this as a collective, they are really tough to beat."
Maryland faces an uphill battle to actually snag a share of the league title. The Terps are three games behind first-place Michigan in the loss column, two behind Michigan State and one behind both Purdue and Wisconsin. The Terps still have opportunities against the league's best ahead, though, with games against both Michigan and Michigan State remaining.
"I've talked to a couple coaches this year who have said Maryland may be the best team in the league," Revsine said.
Does Davis agree?
"Oh yeah, I think so," Davis said. "Best backcourt in the country, best frontcourt in the country. They can beat you on a glass. They guard defensively. Derik Queen is a stud as a freshman, an NBA player. Think about it. Julian Reese, last season was maybe their second option. He had to have good games for them to win. Now, he's their fifth option offensively. He's their clean-up guy. So, when you have an All-Big Ten-caliber center as your fifth option, boy, these dudes are tough. I think [Jordan] Geronimo will give them something going forward. You get Tafara Gapare back, giving them a little bit.
