Turtle power (and a big weekend)

Good morning! You made it to Friday, which means you can catch up on a busy Thursday night of hoops, and spend all day looking forward to Saturday’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown.

Let’s dive in.

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1. Derik Queen shines in Maryland’s win over Nebraska

One of the reasons for Maryland’s bounce-back season was its consistently strong starts. It ranks 4th in D-I in scoring first halves, averaging 41.5 ppg

That was the story Thursday night at Nebraska.

No. 25 Maryland led 42-35, then held on for an 83-75 victory. The Terps (19-6, 9-5 in Big Ten) have won six of its last seven games, including three of the last four on the road (another reason for improvement this season).

OK, perhaps the biggest reason for the bounce-back season is freshman big man Derik Queen.

Coming off a 29-point, 15-rebound performance in the win over Rutgers, Queen logged another big night vs. Nebraska. His season totals — 15.9 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 54.5% from the field — giving him a case for All-Big Ten honors, and even some national attention.

Maryland fans should enjoy it while they can. In ESPN’s latest mock draft, Queen was picked No. 10. And while he may be behind Rutgers freshmen Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper on draft boards, Queen will have a chance to shine in March. He hasn’t been perfect all season (six games of single-digit scoring performances), but topping 24+ points in four of the last nine games? That’s impressive.

As for Nebraska (16-9, 6-8), this Quad 1 loss doesn’t hurt their overall NCAA tourney profile, but it’s certainly a missed opportunity.

Juwan Gary had 22 points, while Brice Williams had 20 for the Cornhuskers. This does put some pressure on them to win on the road in the next week, with Northwestern and Penn State being potential pitfalls. Learn more during Fielding the 68 today at 5 pm ET on YouTube and X.com.

2. Zags turn up the offense vs. Dons + more results

Gonzaga’s seemingly come up short in every close game this season. So it had to be a bit nervous going into halftime tied with San Francisco in front of its home crowd.

That’s what fast starts are for.

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