Despite loss, Maryland basketball gains ground in AP poll voting
The Terps are 8-2 on the season.
It has been a fun Maryland men's basketball season thus far.
The Terps sit at 8-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten, coming off a week where they destroyed Ohio State, 83-59, in College Park on Wednesday and lost a tight one at then-No. 8 Purdue, 83-78, on Sunday.
Maryland, which has been receiving votes in the AP poll all season long, has yet to crack the rankings this season. But it is inching closer to doing so.
The Terps received 39 points in Monday's Week 6 poll, checking in as the unofficial No. 37 team in the country. The ranked teams in the Big Ten are No. 11 Purdue, No. 14 Michigan, No. 20 Wisconsin, No. 21 Michigan State and No. 24 UCLA.
Maryland received 13 points in the Dec. 2 poll, tied with fellow Big Ten member UCLA as the unofficial No. 44 team in the country. Maryland received four points in the Nov. 25 poll, one point in the Nov. 18 poll, three points in the Nov. 11 poll and one point in the preseason poll.
In Year Three of the Kevin Willard era, the Terps have been led by superstar freshman big Derik Queen. The Baltimore native came to College Park as a five-star prospect, and he has been as advertised. Queen is averaging 17.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 60.9% from the field. His latest performance? A 26-point, 12-rebound game at Purdue, and he made his first two threes of the season.
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"We needed someone -- again, they were really dropping and zoning out on some guys," Willard said of Queen after the game Sunday. "And I thought his aggressiveness when, you know, he's got to be more aggressive at times. Not just rely on the jump shot. And part of being a freshman is, he made the jump shot, but then he settled for two when we didn't need jump shots. So I thought he played great, but it's a good learning experience."
Ja'Kobi Gillespie has also starred at point guard. The Belmont transfer is averaging 14.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He is shooting 51% from the field and 41.8% from three. Gillespie had 18 points against Purdue. Maryland's two other impact transfer guards, Rodney Rice and Selton Miguel, have joined Gillespie, Queen and Julian Reese in the starting five. Rice and Miguel each had 13 points against Purdue. Reese is averaging 12.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, but he fouled out and played just 23 minutes against the Boilermakers.
