It will be a make-or-break season for the Maryland Terrapins in the Big Ten. The Terps are entering their third season under Head Coach Kevin Willard. An NCAA tournament berth in his first season in College Park had the program looking like it was heading in the right direction.
Then things hit the fan in 2023-24 as the Terrapins finished in the bottom four of the Big Ten. Longtime Maryland contributors Donta Scott and star point guard Jahmir Young graduated. So, the Terrapins are looking for some new leaders in their locker room.
With four new teams in an already very competitive Big Ten. Maryland has to progress this season, or Williard could be on the hot seat.
Maryland Big Ten Basketball Preview 2024-25: Terps Have Talent
The Terrapins had plenty of roster turnover outside of Scott and Young, losing five players via the transfer portal. That is the new normal, so the Terps brought in four new players via the portal. Pair those transfers with a McDonald’s All-American recruit in Derik Queen, along with Malachi Palmer, and things are looking up.
It always hurts to have to replace more than three players in the starting lineup, but unfortunately, that is what Maryland has to do.
Starting Five Looks to Be Just About Set
Two of the five starting spots for Maryland seemed filled just based on returning players as Julian Reese returns for his senior season in College Park. The other confirmed starting spot goes to Deshawn Harris-Smith, who was an All-Big Ten Freshman last season.
As for the other three spots, it’s clear that Queen has a spot in the lineup. However, to have both he and Reese on the floor at the same time could present some challenges. The Terps will have to look at two of their incoming transfers for the final two spots in the starting five. Ja’Kobi Gillespie from Belmont should fit in right away after averaging 17 points per game last season. Selton Miguel is no Young, but his 39 percent three-point shooting coming over from South Florida should help.
Maryland shared a video on its social media page featuring newcomer Queen.
DQ has arrived!
Get to Know: @derikqueen1 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/aoCvl2Y2TU
— Maryland Men’s Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) June 20, 2024
Other Contributors Need To Step Up
Jordan Geronimo has always been a respected player in the Big Ten, but his early days at Indiana have yet to show up for Maryland. He was highly sought after by the Terps when they added him last season as a transfer. Three-point shooting has been a big reason why the Terps have been contenders for the NCAA tournament in the past. That struggled down the stretch last season, as they finished 16-17 overall.
Jamie Kaiser Jr. looked like he was going to be an important future piece on the wing for Maryland, but he ultimately left for Butler this offseason. The Terps have lots of new pieces, so they need some of them to step up if the 2024-25 season is going to be better than last year.
A Closer Look at the Terps Schedule
The schedule for Maryland has plenty of winnable games in the non-conference. They do have two huge match-ups against teams from the Big East with both Marquette and Villanova as foes this season. Looking forward to the Big Ten slate for the Terps, they have plenty of challenging games.
Thankfully, they won’t have to make a trip to California, as both USC and UCLA will visit College Park. Getting Michigan State and Wisconsin at the Xfinity Center is a big plus as well. Winning on the road in the Big Ten is hard, and Maryland will have to put in a lot of work with road visits to most of the favorites to win the league.
Those include visits to Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, and Michigan. Can’t forget visits to Eugene to play Oregon, and a trip to Seattle to face the Washington Huskies. Maryland only plays two games apiece against three opponents in the Big Ten. Those teams are Nebraska, Northwestern, and Ohio State.
A closer look at the Terps’ full Big Ten Schedule was provided on the team’s X page.
B1G news today
➡️ https://t.co/YRFXel5kTo pic.twitter.com/npNttD1CK6
— Maryland Men’s Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) May 1, 2024
Challenges Ahead, But Terps Have Talent To Succeed
This new Big Ten is a real gauntlet, but Maryland certainly has some big pieces that can help them compete in the league. They will go as far as Reese and Queen can lead them. That has been the key for the teams that have won the Big Ten in recent memory having a strong post-player and three-point shooting. Those road games against the Hoosiers, Boilermakers, and Illini will test Maryland. They have the talent to succeed, but they will face challenges along the way.
