After watching the Maryland men’s basketball team destroy Syracuse in Brooklyn this past Saturday, one national analyst is extremely high on the Terps.
Andy Katz, a reporter for the Big Ten Network and the NCAA, believes Maryland (10-2, 1-1 Big Ten) is a legitimate contender for the Big Ten regular-season title.
In a video shared to social media on Tuesday, he explained five reasons why.
It’s time to put some respect on @TerrapinHoops, says @TheAndyKatz ?️
He shares why the Terps will contend for the #B1GMBBall title this season: pic.twitter.com/CBDVEBXLXR
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) December 24, 2024
“Andy Katz here for the Big Ten Network with five reasons why Maryland isn’t just one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten, but in the country,” he said. “At number one: Derik Queen. Kevin Willard says he’s the best freshman in the country, challenging Cooper Flagg at Duke and Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey of Rutgers in the same league. We shall see. But look, he’s a double-double machine. He’s a big, he’s strong, he’s a problem for every opponent. Two: defensive scoring allowed. They’re only allowing 60.7 points a game, that’s 15th in the country. Three: turnover margin, 6.6 a game. That’s good for seventh in the country. This team is turning teams over, scoring at the other end. Four: they got a second gear. Maryland is tied for 17th in fast-break points with 195, and they lead the country in 10-0 runs – interesting stat that Maryland has come up with. And at number five: the backcourt transfers. Selton Miguel from South Florida, Ja’Kobi Gillespie from Belmont, Rodney Rice from Virginia Tech – all three have flourished for Maryland. This team has come together. They got great chemistry. Maybe the nonconference schedule wasn’t as strong, but they played it well outside of maybe – I mean look, Marquette and Purdue, no shame in that. Look out for the Terps, they are going to contend for a Big Ten title.”
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Katz has Maryland at No. 13 in his latest Power 37 rankings, saying, “The Terps will be top 10 if they can get through a restart Big Ten season in the Northwest.”
Maryland is the highest ranked Big Ten team in KenPom (No. 11) and the NET (No. 7). The Terps are No. 11 at BartTorvik, one spot behind Illinois. If you remove preseason data at Torvik, Maryland has been the seventh-best team in the country since the start of the season.
Maryland fell just points short of being ranked in both the latest AP poll and the coaches poll Monday, checking in as the top team receiving votes (No. 26 unofficially) in the country. After the poll was released, Katz called out the AP voters questioning why Maryland was not ranked.
From my @BleacherReport @AP_Top25 breakdown. Calling out the voters. Where is @TerrapinHoops??? I break it down (cc: @B1GMBBall @BigTenNetwork @MarchMadnessMBB @notthefakeSVP): pic.twitter.com/M5Hz7j7oWZ
— Andy Katz (@TheAndyKatz) December 23, 2024
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