A heavy favorite again.
How to Watch Illinois vs. Maryland
Game Time: 6 p.m. Wednesday
TV Channel: BTN
Online Streaming: FoxSportsGO
Odds: N/A (Illinois 94% Chance To Win – ESPN Matchup Predictor)
Quick Hits:
Illinois Fighting Illini (15-3, 6-1 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Brad Underwood (9th season)
Last Game: Illinois 77, Maryland 67
Gameday Reading:
Maryland Terrapins (8-10, 1-6 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Buzz Williams (1st season)
Last Game: Maryland 96, Maryland 73
What Happened the Last Time These Two Teams Played?
- Maryland leads the all-time series 17-8.
March 14, 2025: Maryland 88, Illinois 65
INDIANAPOLIS — Well, that was terrible.
Twenty-four hours after a historic scoring output in a 106-94 win over Iowa, No. 7 Illinois struggled mightily on both ends of the court in a 88-65 thrashing at the hands of No. 2 Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals. The Illini’s four-game win streak came to an end against one of the conference foes it can never seem to figure out, and now Brad Underwood’s team looks ahead to Selection Sunday and the NCAA Tournament.
“My hat’s off to Maryland,” Underwood said. “Pretty good. They’re pretty good. Whooped our butt in every facet. And I think we have a lot we can learn from a team like them.”
From the opening tip, nothing went Illinois’ way. The first two possessions ended with turnovers — Kylan Boswell traveling and Kasparas Jakucionis throwing it away — and the Illini’s first four points came from the charity stripe.
But Illinois didn’t have any success from just about anywhere on the floor, shooting 23-of-63 from the field, including 6-of-27 from three. Friday’s score wasn’t really all that close, but Illinois finished the game on a 8-0 run, which included a pair of those threes.
But the big story was Maryland’s explosive offense, rivaling what we saw Thursday night from Illinois at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Rodney Rice finished with 26 points (7-of-9 from three) in 25 minutes, and Derik Queen (the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year) had no issues in the paint, where Illinois’ Tomislav Ivisic picked up three early fouls and spent a majority of the first half riding the bench.
“We let Rice cook us in the first half,” Underwood said. “I was really disappointed in our defense on the perimeter.”
Notably, it’s not the first such blowout loss for Illinois this season. Less than a month ago, the Illini suffered their worst loss in program history — a 43-point defeat to Duke — and it sparked the recent winning streak and a revitalized offensive and defensive effort.
“Our effort and energy went up after the Duke game,” Jakucionis said. “I believe and hope that after this loss we will get at it in practice, especially on the defensive end.”
Let’s see if there can be a similar change occurring with less than a week until the start of the NCAA Tournament, where Illinois will find itself for the fifth consecutive season.
“I feel confident in us, always,” Boswell said. “Get a couple days of rest, get back on our feet, and get back at it with the right mentality.”
Category: General Sports
