The resurgence of the Maryland men's basketball team and the emergence of freshman point guard Melo Trimble continued to gain recognition Monday.
The 10-1 Terps, who came from seven points down in the second half to beat USC-Upstate on Saturday, moved up two spots in both the Associated Press writers' poll (to No. 17) and the USA Today coaches' poll (to No. 20).
The AP ranking is Maryland's highest since the 2006-07 season.
Trimble, who became the first Maryland player to record a double-double this season with 14 points and a season-high 12 rebounds Saturday, was named Big Ten co-Freshman of the Week along with Northwestern's Bryant McIntosh.
Trimble was also named the conference's Freshman of the Week on Dec. 1, the same week he shared Player of the Week honors.
Maryland is off until Sunday, when the Terps face Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla. The Terps open their inaugural Big Ten season Dec. 30 at No. 25 Michigan State.
The Terps and Spartans are two of four Big Ten teams ranked in the AP poll, following No. 5 Wisconsin and No. 12 Ohio State. There are also three other ranked teams in the USA Today poll: No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 12 Ohio State and No. 22 Michigan State.
don.markus@baltsun.com
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