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Ten games into its second season under head coach Adrian Autry, Syracuse has a measly 5-5 record. The Orange started 3-0, scraping by lower–tier opponents at home. A trip to Brooklyn gave SU a litmus test, falling to Texas and Texas Tech in the Legends Classic.

A win over Cornell put the Orange back on track but a 26-point loss to Tennessee quickly brought them back down. To open Atlantic Coast Conference play, Syracuse fell by five to Notre Dame. However, it quickly bounced back with a 17-point win over UAlbany.

In the 100th edition of the SU-Georgetown rivalry, Syracuse failed to record a field goal in the final four minutes, losing by four. Along the way, the Orange have lost their leading scorer J.J. Starling to injury and a top-3-point threat in Chris Bell is amid one of the worst stretches of his career.

The path doesn’t get much easier for Syracuse. SU returns to Brooklyn against Maryland in the Gotham Classic. The Terrapins are No. 17 in the nation according to KenPom and received 24 votes in the recent AP Top-25 Poll.

Here’s everything to know about Maryland (9-2, 1-1 Big 10) ahead of its matchup with Syracuse (5-5, 0-1 ACC) Saturday in Brooklyn:

All time series

Maryland leads 5-4.

Last time they played …

On Nov. 27, 2017, sophomore Tyus Battle treated the Carrier Dome crowd to a last-second treat. Trailing with minutes to play, Battle knocked down a 3 to put SU up 72-70. The Orange never surrendered the lead, defeating Maryland in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge,

Led by Battle’s 18 points, Syracuse finished with four double-digit scorers. Maryland’s Kevin Huerter went 7-for-9 from 3, finishing with a game-high 23 points. Despite going just 3-for-18 from beyond the arc, the Orange held on to start 6-0 on the season. SU went on to fall to Duke in the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen that season.

KenPom Odds

Syracuse has a 15% chance of winning, with a projected score of 84-72.

The Terrapins report

Following an NCAA Tournament second-round appearance in Year 1 under head Kevin Willard in the 2022-23 season, Maryland fell back to the middle of the pack in 2023-24. To start his third year helming the Terrapins, Willard seemingly has them back to national relevance.

Maryland is 9-2 to start the year, falling to then-No.15 Marquette by four and then-No. 8 Purdue by five. Besides those two losses, the Terrapins have dominated their schedule, led by freshman Derik Queen.

Hailing from the prestigious Montverde Academy, Queen was a consensus five-star recruit and the Co-MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game. So far at Maryland, he’s leading the way with 17.3 points in 26.9 minutes per game.

To complement Queen’s inside presence, the Terrapins have four other scorers averaging 11 or more points per game. Junior Ja’Kobi Gillespie is shooting 42.6% from 3, going 26-for-61. Sophomore Rodney Rice is 24-for-64 at a 37.5% clip. Selton Miguel rounds out the group with a 40.8% mark, going 20-for-49 from distance.

While it’s excelled offensively through spread scoring, Maryland also has a spectacular defense with the 11th-best efficiency, according to KenPom. The unit has allowed just 60.7 points per game overall.

How Syracuse beats Maryland

Syracuse defeats Maryland to climb over the .500 mark by connecting from beyond the arc. Among 364 Division I teams, the Orange currently ranks 347th in 3-point percentage with a 27.1% clip. Freshman Elijah Moore has been the lone bright spot at 33% but Bell, who shot 42% from 3 a season ago, is at just 23.4% 11 games into his junior year.

To keep up with the Terrapins, the Orange must score from the perimeter. SU’s shown an ability to score inside through the strength of Eddie Lampkin Jr., Jyáre Davis and Donnie Freeman. However, in crunch time, it will likely have to hit a few 3s to stay in the game, especially against a team averaging over 87 points.

If Syracuse doesn’t find any way of efficiently scoring from deep, the Terrapins stifling defense will make enough stops to make this game out of hand.

Stat to know: 27.1

At a 27.1 differential, Maryland leads the nation in scoring margin. The Terrapins have allowed just 60.7 points per game while scoring 87.8. Comparatively, SU has a -0.2 margin, allowing 79.5 points per game and scoring 79.3.

Maryland has won eight games by 24+ points, defeating Canisius by 71 points and taking down Saint Francis most recently by 54. In their conference opener against Ohio State, the Terrapins won by 24, asserting themselves as a top threat in the Big 10.

Player to watch: Derik Queen, center, No. 25

A week ago against the Hoyas, SU faced a top freshman big man in the nation in Thomas Sorber. The matchup against the Terrapins poses a similar threat. Queen has excelled to begin his freshman campaign, averaging 17.3 points and 8.4 rebounds.

The Baltimore, Maryland, native made an instant impact from the jump, posting a 22-point, 20-rebound performance in his college debut against Manhattan. In Maryland’s game against then-No. 8 Purdue on Dec. 8, Queen scored a career-high 26 points. The No. 12 recruit in the 2024 class already has pushed the Terrapins to multiple wins. The question for the Orange is how much they can contain him inside.

Published on December 20, 2024 at 2:07 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky