14. Maryland (21-6)
While not the power that this program was two decades ago, Maryland has been sneaking into the national attention with a strong lineup and some great performances in the Big Ten. Recent wins over Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin punctuated what’s been a fantastic run for the Terrapins over the last month or so and they kept that going into this week.
Way back on Sunday the Terrapins used a strong second half in a 101-75 home win over Iowa, their best offensive showing of the season. Ja’Kobi Gillespie led with 26 points, multiple starters had double-doubles, and the Terrapins shot 58% from the floor and actually came back from a halftime deficit. There was slightly less drama on Thursday in an 88-71 win against USC. This time around it was Rodney Rice leading the charge with 22 points while Derik Queen had 13 points and 17 rebounds.
We named just three of them, but the entire starting five for the Terrapins has been on point during this run of success. Maryland has now won eight of nine games and sit an attractive 11-5 in the Big Ten, with everything they want to accomplish still in front of them. There are still some occasional issues on defense for Kevin Willard’s squad, but this team is playing as well as any in the Big Ten and has a major opportunity against Michigan State next week.