2024-2025 College Basketball Preview: Iowa Hawkeyes
Mike Randle
Check out our entire college basketball season preview!
The college basketball season is less than three weeks away, and here at FTN Fantasy we have you covered for what promises to be another thrilling year of upsets and incredible finishes. I will be taking you around the country with a betting preview of the major conferences. I recap the betting trends from last season, list projected starters, preview the season, identify a key player, and reveal how I’m backing or fading each team.
Let’s continue with the largest conference in college basketball, the Big Ten. This conference underwent massive changes, adding four new teams from the Pac-12 in Washington, USC, Oregon and UCLA. The expansion has not diluted the competitive level of the Big Ten, ranking third (same as last year) in KenPom preseason rankings.
Below is a betting preview for the Maryland Terrapins.
2024-2025 College Basketball Season Preview: Maryland Terrapins
Conference: Big Ten
Head Coach: Kevin Willard (3rd Season)
2023-2024 Record: 16-17 (7-13)
ATS: 13-20
O/U: 13-20
Projected Starters: G Ja’Kobi Gillespie; G DeShawn Harris-Smith; G Selton Miguel; F Derik Queen; C Julian Reese
My annual battle against Kevin Willard renewed last year, and I came out with the victory. Despite a lofty third-place prediction in the Big Ten preseason media poll, the Terrapins were greatly disappointing with a 12th-place finish. My longtime belief is that Willard can get a program to respectability, but not compete regularly at the highest level. His reputation was buoyed by a magical Big East Tournament title in 2016, which was followed by a 16-point blowout loss to No. 10 Gonzaga as a No. 7 seed. Last year, Maryland simply forgot how to shoot the ball efficiently, registering at 29% from deep and 41.3% from the field. Even Maryland’s 14th-ranked defense couldn’t overcome the startling offensive issues.
Maryland addressed the shooting and lack of ball movement by signing Belmont lead guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie. The former Bruin led the MVC in both FG% (56%) and steals (2.2), while dishing out over 100 total assists each of the past two seasons. Julian Reese returning will help on both sides of the ball. I wouldn’t be surprised if Reese posts a league-high in double doubles with Zach Edey now in the NBA. Coach Willard inherits 6-foot-10 freshman Derik Queen, a top-10 recruit nationally.
Key Player: Selton Miguel
South Florida’s Selton Miguel was the ACC Sixth-Man of the Year, averaging 14.7 PPG and shooting a blistering 39% from 3P range on 5.5 3PA per contest. He brings explosive guard play to an offensively challenged Maryland team in desperate need of scorers. His arrival mimics the progression of Jahmir Young from Charlotte, who posted over 20 PPG last year with the Terrapins. Harris-Smith will naturally progress to a double-digit scorer as a sophomore, and Gillespie will run the show, but it’s Miguel who can make this team a threat to pull impressive Big Ten road wins.
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