Maryland men’s basketball lost to No. 11 Illinois, 89-70, on Jan. 21 in Champaign, Ill.
The Terrapins were unable to build on their first conference win against Penn State on Jan. 18, starting their three-game stretch against ranked opponents with a loss.
Maryland (8-11, 1-7 Big Ten) will face No. 10 Michigan State on Jan. 24 at noon in East Lansing, Mich., next.
“And if you add Purdue a week later, we’re playing three games in a row against top-10 teams with two of them being on the road,” Maryland head coach Buzz Williams said after the game. “I for sure don’t mean it to come across with any level of or hint of arrogance — I think real players and real coaches, that’s what they want to do.”
One area the Terrapins must address to become more competitive is limiting the big scoring runs they allow. Earlier this month, on Jan. 10 against UCLA, Maryland surrendered a 22-2 run that gave the Bruins a 38-21 halftime lead. UCLA went on to win, 67-55.
That issue resurfaced against Illinois, as the Illini turned a competitive game into a rout. Maryland briefly led, 24-19, after a 7-0 run in the first half, but Illinois responded with a decisive 25-4 spurt, capped by a buzzer-beater, to take a 47-30 advantage into halftime.
“I think we did a lot of good things, but you have to be even better than good to win at [No. 11] Illinois,” Williams said. “We were better in the second half in regards to our turnover rate. We were better in the second half in regards to not getting absolutely pummeled on the glass. And then 10 threes in the first half [by Illinois] versus five threes in the second half is distinctly different.”
Maryland understands the impact of momentum swings. Against Penn State on Jan. 18, the Terrapins closed the first half with a 25-2 run to build a commanding 56-26 lead. However, they later allowed a 25-6 surge that cut the margin to just 10 points before ultimately securing the win.
Unlike their comeback against Penn State, the Terrapins never recovered in Champaign. Illinois extended its lead to as many as 27 points, going up 89-62 with two minutes remaining. The Illini were led Andrej Stojaković’s 30-point performance, 16 of which came in the first half.
In short, basketball is a game of runs. For Maryland to stay afloat in Big Ten play, the Terrapins must find ways to prevent momentum swings of 15 points or more.
“It was a four- to six-point game only in the second half from start to finish in the second half,” Williams said. “But in order to win these games, 40 minutes is required at a high execution level.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics