The University of Maryland Terrapins get their first test of the 2024-25 season tomorrow night, when they host #15 Marquette.
Both teams will enter at 3-0, with MD having beat Manhattan, Mount St. Mary’s, and Florida A&M each by 30 or more points; and Marquette having beat Stony Brook, George Mason, and Central Michigan.
In addition to being #15 Nationally in the AP Poll, the Golden Eagles are 15th in ESPN”s Power Rankings, and 15th in Gary Parrish’s (CBS Sports) Top 25+1 Power Rankings.
The Terps are 15th in Kyle Boone’s (CBS Sports) Top 16 Power Rankings.
In the KenPom Rankings, Marquette is 24th overall, while MD is 29th.
Marquette: 36th Offensive Efficiency, 17th Defensive Efficiency, 76th Adjusted Tempo
Maryland: 77th Offensive Efficiency, 5th Defensive Efficiency, 248th Adjusted Tempo
In pretty much every season preview to be found on the Big East, Marquette was picked to finish 2nd in the Conference behind UConn, and Senior SG Kam Jones was a Pre-season 1st Team All-Conference Player.
This is Year 4 for Shaka Smart as Marquette’s Head Coach.
Smart was the AP, and Big East Coach of the Year in 2023.
So far this year:
Jones is averaging 22.7 ppg, 6.3 assists, and 2.3 steals. He’s shooting 69.2% from the floor, including 52.9% from 3 on 5.7 attempts per game.
Senior Forward David Joplin (6’8, 225 lbs) is averaging 15.3 ppg, and 6.7 boards.
Junior Guard Chase Ross (6’5, 205 lbs) is averaging 15.3 ppg, and 6.3 boards. He’s making 50% of his 3’s, on 4 attempts per game.
Senior Guard Stevie Mitchell (6’3, 200 lbs) is averaging 9.7 ppg.
Junior Forward Ben Gold (6’11, 235 lbs) is averaging 8 ppg, 4 boards, and 1.7 blocks.
Four other Marquette players are averaging double-figure minutes.
Some Early Numbers From Maryland Through The First Three Games
- 6 Terrapins (Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Derik Queen, Julian Reese, DeShawn Harris-Smith, Selton Miguel, and Rodney Rice) are each averaging at-least 20 minutes per game.
- 4 other Terps (Jay Young, Jordan Geronimo, Tafara Gapare, and Malachi Palmer) are averaging between 12.7 and 17.3 minutes per game.
- Rice is leading MD at 16.7 ppg, with Queen and Gillespie tied for 2nd at 13.7 ppg. Reese is the fourth Terp scoring in double figures at 13.0 ppg.
- Miguel is at 8.3 ppg. In his first game, he didn’t score, as he was limited to 15 minutes on a sore ankle. In the last two games, he’s averaged 12.5 ppg.
- Reese is leading MD at 8 boards per game, with Queen second at 7.7.
- Gillespie leads MD at 2.7 assists per game, with Queen second at 2.3.
- Gapare leads MD at 2.3 steals per game, with Young and Queen tied for second at 1.7.
- Queen leads MD with 1.3 blocks per game, with Reese and Geronimo tied for second at 1.
- Rice is making 41% of his 3 point attempts (5.7 attempts per), and Gillespie is making 40% of his 3 point attempts (5.0 attempts per).
- Harris-Smith is 0 for 5 from 3, Miguel is 3 of 11, Young is 2 of 8, Palmer is 1 of 4, Chance Stephens is 2 of 9.
- Queen exploded in his first game with 22 points, and 20 boards. He’s had 19 points, and 3 board combined in the next two games.
- Reese is making 68% of his FT’s so far this year, up from 57% last year. He’s removed his hitch.
Quick Takes & Questions
- The athleticism of Maryland has improved. The wings have more length, and the team as a whole has more bounce.
- How consistent is Queen’s rebounding going forward? The Terps might not need him to put up points every night, but they do need him to do work on the glass.
- Queen has a pretty polished game. Like the footwork. Like the hands. Like that he keeps the ball high. Like the positioning. He’s not some uber athlete, but he moves quickly and decisively.
- Gillespie might not be as explosive as Jahmir Young, but he also moves well and is smooth. I think he’s also a better shooter.
- Queen’s Game 1 aside, the most exciting thing for MD through these first 3 games was seeing Rice drop 28 on the Mountaineers. Rice was a quality recruit, but after playing 8 games as a Freshman, and then not playing last year with Virginia Tech; it was hard to know exactly what MD had here. Love the intermediate game Rice has shown, which is definitely a lost art.
- Was glad to see Miguel’s ankle injury didn’t linger. He’s been going at the rim the last two games, working downhill.
- Young is going to get more time than I envisioned in the pre-season. He’s a very good defensive player.
- I like Gapare. Glad to have him (and Geronimo) available off the bench in the front-court. Gapare’s 7 steals so far is interesting. Need him to rebound, and block some shots like he did at Georgia Tech. Figure that will come.
- You can tell Stephens is still working his way back after losing last year to injury. I think him getting more comfortable, and showing an ability to knock down some shots off the bench will factor into Maryland’s ceiling as the year progresses.
- Like Young, Palmer has been playing more than I expected. But while I think Young will continue to get regular minutes, I’m not sure if that’s true for Palmer. You’d think the rotation would shorten tomorrow against Marquette. Will be interesting to see how the minutes shake out.
- Coach Willard has spoken out several times already this year mentioning how he wants to stagger the minutes between Queen and Reese. I understand wanting to have one of them always on the court, but I kind of like them out there together.
- If players are going to take a leap, the largest improvement usually occurs between their Freshman and Sophomore years. Going into last season, there was huge hype on Harris-Smith. It was a difficult year for him, particularly offensively, but by the end of the season I thought he was doing a number of things well – just couldn’t get the ball into the basket. The first three games haven’t shown indication of him breaking out though here in Year 2, and that’s disappointing. Rice and Miguel were needed additions for MD. Hopefully Harris-Smith is competing with them daily, and the light-switch flips on.
- It’s understood that nobody is spending money to come out and watch Manhattan, Mount St. Mary’s, and Florida A&M; but Marquette is different. It’s a name program, their ranked, and it’s a real opportunity for Maryland to get a significant win on their resume. The Terps need a strong home court. What will the atmosphere be like tomorrow?
- Against the Little Sisters of the Poor, the ball has been moving, and lots of Terps have been involved. What does the offense look like against a team with similar athletes, that is well coached, and has a lot of experience? If the game is tight close and late; who wants the ball? When MD needs a basket, where do they go?
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.