Maryland Basketball: Can the 'Crab Five' carry Terps to a national championship?
For the third consecutive game, Maryland's starting unit all finished in double-figures on Thursday night. In a convincing 88-71 victory over USC, the Terps starting unit - now referred to as the "Crab Five" - continued to show why they're viewed as the best in the nation. Veteran guard Rodney Rice led all scores with 22 points, followed by Ja'Kobi Gillespie with 20 points. Julian Reese with 19 points, Derik Queen with 13 points, and Selton Miguel with 11 points.
Maryland's starting five accounted for 85 of the Terps 88 points on Thursday night, a trend that we've seen play out a number of times the season. In fact, of the 272 total points Maryland has scored over the last three games, the starting unit has accounted for 263 of those points.
Maryland has scored 272 in in its last three games.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) February 21, 2025
The Terps' starters have scored 263 of those points. https://t.co/CKSXVFDwoS
Here are some other noteworthy stats from Maryland's starters following Thursday night's performance, courtesy of UMTerps.com:
- Maryland is one of four major conference programs with all five starters scoring double-figures while starting at least 50 percent of the team's games. Joining the Terps are Arizona State, Kentucky and Michigan. The Terps' five consists of: Queen (15.9), Gillespie (14.9), Reese (14.0), Rice (13.7) and Miguel (12.0).
- Maryland's five starters — the team's five leading scorers — have a combined scoring average of 70.4, the highest among all major conference programs.
- This was the sixth time all five starters scored in double figures this season, surpassing Kentucky and tying Washington State for the most such games by any program. They have accomplished the feat in three straight games.
Given how productive the starters have been night in and night out, there is a growing belief that they're good enough to carry the Terrapins all the way to a national championship.
The point: The Crab Five is outstanding and can do serious damage in March. https://t.co/V9sHwvXDKX
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) February 21, 2025
The Terps have another opportunity to make their case as the best starting five in college basketball on Wednesday, as the No. 14 Michigan State Spartans come to College Park. The matchup against Michigan State tips off at 6:30 pm ET on the Big Ten Network (BTN). And while it will certainly be a massive test for this Terrapin squad, Maryland is now 16-1 at the Xfinity Center. That mark is currently tied for the second-most home wins among all DI programs, trailing only Missouri at 17-1.
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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.