Thursday Night Hoops As Maryland Heads To Northwestern

Maryland (13-4, 3-3 B1G) at Northwestern (10-6, 1-4 B1G)

January 16, 2025

9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT)

Welsh-Ryan Arena

COLLEGE PARK, MD — After winning back-to-back home games, Maryland heads back to the road to face Northwestern on Thursday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena on BTN (9 PM ET). Fans can listen to the game on the Maryland Sports Radio Network with Voice of the Terps Johnny Holliday calling the action alongside Chris Knoche.
 

Maryland gutted out a 77-71 win over Minnesota to even their Big Ten record to 3-3 on Monday night. Derik Queen scored a career-high 27 points, with 18 coming in the second half, while Rodney Rice added 21 points for his second 20-point game of the season.

The Terps are ranked No. 23 in the NCAA NET, No. 24 in the Kenpom ratings, No. 18 in the Torvik ranking, No. 23 on EvanMiya.com, and No. 21 on the ESPN Basketball Power Index.

Maryland has been explosive offensively averaging 84.6 points this year which ranks as the eighth-best average in program history and ranks No. 17 nationally this season. Defensively, the Terps are giving up just 63.8 points per game which is 20th nationally.

 

Big Notes: Finding The Road Dub

• Maryland is looking for it’s first true road win of the season, however, two of it’s three road losses have come at Top-10 opponents (Purdue, Oregon). On neutral courts, Maryland is 2-0 with wins over Villanova and Syracuse.
• Last year, Maryland was 4-8 in road games.
• The last time Maryland won at Northwestern was on Jan. 12, 2022 – a double-overtime 94-87 victory for the Terps. Eric Ayala posted a career-high 26 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, while Fatts Russell scored 21 of his season-high 23 points in the second half and two overtime periods.

Maryland is averaging 84.6 points per game which is the eighth-best mark in program history.

Ja’Kobi Showing The Range

• Since joining the Terps, Ja’Kobi Gillespie has scored in double figures in 13 of his 17 games played. 
• Against No. 22 UCLA, Gillespie set a season-high with 27 points going 4-of-8 from deep and 9-of-9 from the charity stripe. He also had four assists and a season-high four steals in the win.
• Against No. 15 Marquette, Gillespie had 24 points going 10-of-17 from the floor and 4-of-9 from three-point range. That total was just two shy of matching his career-high of 26 points scored against Southern Illinois (2/14/24) when he was at Belmont.
• Gillespie also leads the team with 73 total assists (4.3 per game) giving him 285 for his career. He set a new career-high with 11 in the win over Syracuse as part of his first career double-double (17 pts). The 11 assists were the most by a Maryland player in a game since Melo Trimble had 12 against North Carolina (12/2/15).
• His 4.3 assists per game are tied for 8th in the B1G.
• Gillespie now has 973 career points between Belmont and Maryland through 74 total career games played.
• A highly-touted football prospect while in high school, Gillespie received offers from ACC and SEC programs on the gridiron. As a wide receiver, defensive back, and special teams returner, he pulled off a touchdown trifecta with a receiving touchdown, a pick-six, and a punt return in a single-game.

Juju Beast

• Julian Reese entered the 2024-25 campaign as one of the top post players in the Big Ten and nationally. Last season, he earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors as a junior after being named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team and to the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award Watch List.
• Reese posted 15 double doubles last season which were the ninth most nationally and stood second in the Big Ten during the regular season.
• All-time, Reese has the eighth-most double-doubles for any Terp (29).
• Reese is one of nine players in program history to post over 1,100 career points and 800 career rebounds.
• Despite having a talented group of high-scoring guards and the addition of Derik Queen to the front court, Julian Reese has nearly matched his career-high totals from last season. Even more impressive is that Reese has been hitting these marks playing 7.3 fewer minutes per game than last year.
• Additionally, his 3.3 offensive rebounds per game leads the Big Ten and are the most for a Maryland player since James Padgett averaged 3.3 in 2011-12

 

Queen Is The Truth

• Derik Queen arrived in College Park as one of the most heralded recruits in program history and has lived up to the hype early in the season. From starting his career with a 20/20 double-double to scoring a career-high 26 points at No. 8 Purdue, Queen has quickly shown he is one of the best players in the country.

• Queen leads Maryland in scoring at 16.2 points per game and is second with 7.8 rebounds per game. His scoring average is tied as the second-best among all-time Maryland freshmen dating back to 1947-48.

• Since 2008-09, there have been 34 20-point games by Maryland freshmen. In just his first 17 games, Queen already has six.
• Since 1996-96, Derik Queen’s career-high 26-point performance at No. 8 Purdue marked the most points scored by a Maryland freshman in a true road game since Terrell Stoglin and Justin Jackson each scored 28 points in 2011 and 2017, respectively.
• Queen is part of an exceptional class of 2024-25 freshmen. He is now 10th for overall rookie scoring and is the top center among all NCAA freshmen. Queen is one of six freshmen nationally to score 20 points or more in six games this season.

Get ready for some intense Thursday night hoops as the Maryland Terrapins face off against the Northwestern Wildcats in a crucial Big Ten matchup.

Maryland currently sits atop the Big Ten standings, but Northwestern is not far behind. Both teams will be looking to secure a key conference win as they jockey for position in the standings.

The Terrapins boast a talented roster led by standout guard Eric Ayala and forward Donta Scott. They have been playing well as of late and will be looking to continue their winning streak against Northwestern.

On the other side, the Wildcats have been playing solid basketball and will be looking to pull off an upset at home. Guard Boo Buie and forward Pete Nance will be key players to watch as they look to lead Northwestern to victory.

So grab your popcorn and tune in for what is sure to be an exciting Thursday night showdown between Maryland and Northwestern. Tip-off is at 7:00 PM EST, so don’t miss out on the action!

Tags:

1. Thursday Night Hoops
2. Maryland vs Northwestern
3. College Basketball
4. Big Ten Conference
5. Game Preview
6. Maryland Terrapins
7. Northwestern Wildcats
8. Basketball Matchup
9. NCAA Basketball
10. Maryland Basketball

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