Despite a convincing 27-point win at the Barclays Center, Maryland men’s basketball will have to wait at least one more week before they slide into the top 25.
Kevin Willard’s squad drew 119 points in Monday’s updated AP rankings, the most among any team outside the top 25 and unofficially ranked 26th nationally. Five Big Ten teams are currently ranked with Oregon (9) leading the way, though three of the team are ranked lower than 20th in Purdue (21st), UCLA (22nd) and Illinois (24th).
Despite five teams ranked higher than the Terps, it’s Maryland who is the highest-ranked Big Ten team in both the NET (7) and KenPom (11) rankings, while Illinois (10) sits one spot ahead of Maryland (11) in Bart Torvik’s rankings. They’ll look to become a consensus top-25 team when they wrap up non-conference play against UMES on Saturday, Dec. 28 for a noon tipoff.
Meanwhile, Maryland guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie is one of two Big Ten guards ranked inside the top-ten nationally in offensive and overall Bart Torvik ratings alongside Penn State guard Ace Baldwin.
“[Ja’Kobi] has been solid all year. I think, again, Marquette he was really good. I think Purdue was the only time I probably played him too many minutes. But they're both really, really high-quality players. They're playing off each other right now. I think Ja’Kobi’s starting to realize as a point guard who's hot and what he's doing. I think he's doing a phenomenal job finding guys.”
Maryland women’s basketball, meanwhile, had no issues at home as they wrapped up non-conference play with a 50-point win vs. William & Mary, moving to 11-0 after wrapping up non-conference play. The 107-57 win also came during Maryland’s annual Field Trip Day as the program welcomed over 15,000 students from over 80 elementary schools.
"It's so much fun to bring in so much energy to this game with an 11 am tip," head coach Brenda Frese said following the win. "We hope all the kids came away becoming Maryland fans for life and tell their parents they want to come back. Our players take the responsibility of being role models very seriously, and we take pride in that."
They stayed steady at eighth nationally, the third-highest Big Ten team behind UCLA (1) and USC (4).
With one ranked win already under their belt following the five-point win vs. Duke, head coach Brenda Frese will look to maintain momentum heading into the restart of conference play as 19th-ranked Michigan State heads to College Park on Sunday, Dec. 29.
Related Links