Derik Queen led the way with a career-high 29 points.
After being ranked for the first time in roughly two years, No. 18 Maryland men’s basketball suffered a devastating loss away from home, squandering a 17-point lead to Ohio State.
But the Terps bounced back at home Sunday, hitting 10 3-pointers en route to a 90-81 win over Rutgers.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Queen and Miguel propelled Maryland’s scoring
In the first half, Selton Miguel and Derik Queen dealt a large deal of the damage on the offensive end, and they did it in contrasting ways.
Miguel was lights out from behind the arc. Rutgers played some zone defense, clogging the middle of the court in an attempt to stymie Queen and Julian Reese. But that left Miguel open in spots he’s quite comfortable, namely in the corner.
In the first half, Miguel sunk four of his seven 3-point attempts, hitting step backs and catch-and-shoot opportunities alike. In the second period, he went 1-of-1 from distance, finishing with 17 points.
“We’re getting good looks. We get good shots,” head coach Kevin Willard said. “It’s nice to have a guy that’s [as] old as Selton because he doesn’t get doesn’t get frazzled. He just keeps playing his game.”
Queen, meanwhile, provided a presence inside that kept the Scarlet Knights honest. He snagged 10 rebounds in just the first half, consistently overpowering everyone inside the paint. On one occasion, he wrestled the ball out of the clutches of fellow freshman star Ace Bailey and another defender before stuffing an and-1 putback dunk.
In fact, many of Queen’s buckets were on second-chance opportunities, positioning himself around the rim. He also hit a plethora of fadeaway jumpers, rising over his defender to knock down the shot. Queen finished with a career-high 29 points and 15 rebounds, but he also had a few nice dishes, including a pretty pass that led to a Jordan Geronimo dunk. He finished with five assists.
Rutgers’ star freshmen collectively underperformed
The Scarlet Knights roster two of the best freshmen in the country, Bailey and Dylan Harper, who were No. 2 and No. 4 on ESPN’s 2024 recruiting rankings.
Bailey had one of his most disappointing showings of the campaign, scoring just four points — all in the first half — and playing only 24 minutes. He played just seven minutes in the second half, after which he spent time with a towel over his head on the bench before heading to the locker room.
While Bailey’s two buckets — midrange jumpers — were smooth, the Scarlet Knights failed to find open looks for him consistently. Despite running multiple sets to manufacture him the ball, Bailey failed to even get an open 3-point look. Given his Big Ten-leading 20.1 points per game, this outing was underwhelming, to say the least.
On the other hand, Harper played a team-leading 37 minutes and hovered right around his season average with 20 points. He also added four rebounds and four assists. Harper frequently played as the facilitator and consistently helped push Rutgers’ pace.
While he didn’t hit a single three — going 0-of-4 from behind the arc — he was aggressive on his runs to the basket. If he didn’t make the shot, there was typically a fellow teammate there to clean up.
“I think it was kind of funny,” Willard said. “They all look like they had little baby faces out there. And it’s the first time I’ve seen that, probably before COVID.”
A game of free throws
Seldom are 65 free throws attempted in one game between two teams, but that’s exactly what happened Sunday afternoon.
Maryland, despite knocking down 10 threes, was also extremely willing to test Rutgers’ lack of size inside. It was evident early that it would be a physical, chippy contest. The Scarlet Knights entered the bonus just past the halfway mark of the first half, with Terps fans jeering at each passing call.
Ultimately, Maryland shot 22-of-34 from the free-throw line, missing some key ones toward the end of the contest, although it didn’t affect the final outcome. On the other side, Rutgers went 26-of-31 from the charity stripe.
“It’s concerning,” Willard said. “It’s starting to start aggravating because not only do we work on [free throws] but we’re a good free throw shooting team.”
Reese and Rutgers’ Jeremiah Williams both fouled out with roughly five minutes remaining in regulation. The Terps filled the skilled forward’s void with a combination of DeShawn Harris-Smith and Malachi Palmer.