Maryland men’s basketball kept competitive with No. 11 Illinois for 39 minutes in a game that few would have expected the Terps to have a realistic chance of winning.
Despite Andre Mills’ 30-point day, Maryland let the game slip away at the end, losing 78-72 in a deflated Xfinity Center
Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s regular season finale.
Terps manage a back-and-forth affair
Maryland’s season has been plagued by scoring droughts. Those stoppages allow opponents to settle into a rhythm and build up early leads.
But on Sunday, Maryland
succeeded in going back-and-forth with a ranked opponent.
Illinois scored the first five points of the game — after that, the Illini didn’t string together more than four in a row for the remainder of the half, despite their shooting 48% before the break.
While the game was largely played on Illinois’ stylistic terms, the Terps settled into the rhythm. The Euroball-type movement of the visitors played into Maryland’s relative defensive strength in the interior, with the lack of fast breaks letting the Terps regroup.
Offensively, the Terps had a renewed effort with contributions up and down the roster. Mills led the team with 11 first-half points and 30 overall, asserting his quality in front of another assortment of professional scouts. But the Terps had six other players score before halftime — that came despite Maryland not making a substitution for the first seven minutes of the game.
The momentum continued to swing through the second half. No team scored six points in a row until the Terps did so to level the game at 51 with 12:44 remaining.
After trading inside shots, Illinois went on a 6-0 run of its own — which the Terps responded to with another 6-0 run. It was a remarkable display of perseverance from a team that has struggled through adversity, according to Williams.
“I think all of our guys, in some sort of way, have continued to find ways to get better,” Williams said. “All of this is somewhat emotional for every player when you get to the last game.”
BIg depth differential
Illinois’ size throughout the roster — just one player to take the court against Maryland was shorter than 6-foot-6 — meant that it would eventually find success through the center of the court.
Solomon Washington’s foul trouble was a repeated problem for the Terps to manage. He committed his second foul with six minutes remaining in the first half, but it was mistakenly announced to be his third. He sat for the rest of the half as the Terps played catch up.
It was Washington’s fourth foul that truly broke Maryland’s back, though. While attempting a 3-pointer from the top of the key off a quick inbounds play, the forward stuck his leg out and tripped Illinois’ David Mirković. Washington might have attempted to draw contact, but it resulted in a flagrant foul.
Illinois made the two free throws on the opposite end, and Maryland’s best defender went to the bench.
“We started the half fouling, according to the officials, and we kept fouling,” Williams said. “Solo helps us defensively, he’s our best defender, he’s our best athlete … I don’t want my love [of Washington] to change based on the score of a game.
Washington fouled out with 3:56 to go. In his place, at the end and throughout, Collin Metcalf and George Turkson Jr. were ineffective.
Metcalf’s presence has allowed the Terps to find an offensive groove, but his vertical isn’t the greatest — with one of the 7-foot-plus Ivišić brothers on the court at all times, there was often a mismatch inside. Turkson’s spot minutes have waxed and waned over the season, but he posed little resistance to what Illinois tried to do.
Mills’ brief absences were impactful as well. While he was the focal point offensively, the freshman was nearly as important in the back — he was the only guard with the athleticism and ability to avoid getting punished on screens and ball switches.
At the same time, Maryland seemed content to let the Illini try from deep towards the end of the game. It camped several players down low, including Mills, and dared the team shooting 1-of-8 from deep after the break to beat it that way.
As it turned out, Illinois didn’t need the 3-pointer. Free throws down the stretch — Illinois made 16 of 21 in the second half — were enough to keep Maryland at bay.
Tournament time
It’s been a sure thing since last week Saturday’s result locked in a rematch with Oregon in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
“I wasn’t sure who we were playing until I was doing the radio interview, they said Oregon,” Williams said. “As a staff, we’ve got a lot of work to do … until 4:00 central time on Tuesday.”
The Terps remain on course for their 21st loss of the season, given they don’t win the Big Ten Tournament and the national championship. That will tie the 1940-41 season for the most losses in program history.
At this point in the season, the goal is to prolong that unsavory end as long as possible.
