Maryland Basketball: Derik Queen named Big Ten Freshman of the Week
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The honors continue to roll in for the Maryland Terrapins following an impressive week on the road. Senior forward Julian Reese was recently named Naismith Player of the Week, and now freshman center Derik Queen has earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.
Queen played a critical role in helping the Terrapins notch their first two road wins of the season, averaging 16.0 points and 8.5 rebounds over that two game stretch. It began on Thursday against No. 17 Illinois, where Queen poured in 25 points - along with six rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. He followed up that performance with seven points and 11 rebounds against Indiana on Sunday.
𝐁𝟏𝐆 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤... 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧!
— Maryland Men’s Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) January 27, 2025
Third time this season for DQ
The true freshman now has seven 20-point performances on the year and leads the Terrapins with 15.2 points per game. This is Queen's third time earning Big Ten Player of the Week honors, highlighting just how impactful the big man has been this season.
Although the Terrapins are certainly starting to garner some attention nationally, Maryland still finds itself on the outside looking in when it comes to the latest AP Top 25 rankings.
Here's a look at the latest AP Top 25:
- Auburn (18-1)
- Duke (17-2)
- Iowa State (17-2)
- Alabama (17-3)
- Florida (18-2)
- Houston (16-3)
- Michigan State (17-2)
- Tennessee (17-3)
- Marquette (17-3)
- Purdue (16-5)
- Kansas (14-5)
- Kentucky (14-5)
- Texas A&M (15-5)
- St. John's (17-3)
- Oregon (16-4)
- Wisconsin (16-4)
- Illinois (14-6)
- Memphis (16-4)
- Missouri (16-4)
- Louisville (15-5)
- Texas Tech (15-4)
- Ole Miss (15-5)
- Vanderbilt (16-4)
- UConn (14-6)
Others receiving votes:
Michigan 129, Maryland 116, Utah St. 99, Clemson 92, Arizona 47, Saint Mary's 45, Gonzaga 34, Texas 22, Creighton 12, Baylor 8, New Mexico 4, VCU 4, West Virginia 3, Oklahoma 2, Bradley 1, UCLA 1.
Up next, the Terrapins return home to the Xfinity center for a Top 25 matchup against Wisconsin.
Maryland is just 8-15 against the Badgers all-time, and the Terrapins have lost five of the last six meetings. In order to keep the momentum they've built over the last two games and continue their rise within the Big Ten conference, the Terrapins will need to take care of business against the Badgers on Wednesday night. That game tips off on BTN at 7:00 pm ET.
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Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.
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