Maryland men’s basketball earns first road win of season with 91-70 win over No. 17 Illinois

Photo courtesy of Illinois Fighting Illini

Julian Reese received the ball deep in the paint with 7:26 remaining in the second half. He powered through two defenders and finished a layup while taking the contact for an old-fashioned three-point play. 

Maryland men’s basketball defeated No. 17 Illinois, 91-70, at the State Farm Center on Thursday to earn its first away win this season and a signature win against a ranked opponent. The Terps used their commanding physicality to score 62 points in the paint, the most in the Big Ten this season. 

Maryland’s big man duo of Reese and Derik Queen carried the squad in the scoring and rebounding columns. Reese delivered a dominating performance, scoring a career-high 27 points. The forward also grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds and recorded three blocks. 

The Terps entered the game 0-4 on the road this season. Maryland has struggled immensely during Kevin Willard’s three-year tenure with a 4-20 record in conference road games, second-worst in the Big Ten during that stretch. But the Terps responded to questions about effort and ability to win in tough environments with their second quad-one win of the year.

Maryland jumped out to an early 10-4 lead with all their points coming in the paint. The Terps turned missed shots and turnovers into scoring opportunities for Queen, who scored most of his 25 points on transition layups.

Maryland’s disruptive defense forced 16 takeaways while only committing seven turnovers themselves. 

The Terps pushed the pace and scored 17 fast break points. Maryland dominated down low, with Reese grabbing seven offensive rebounds. The absence of 7-footer Tomislav Ivisic was costly for Illinois, who lacked the size to compete with the Terps’ large front court. Morez Johnson Jr. and Ben Humrichous filled in for the big man but were limited due to foul trouble. 

Maryland led by as much as 10 points in the first half but the Fighting Illini closed the period on an 11-4 run to cut the lead to three at halftime. 

Illinois picked up some much-needed scoring from its bench, especially from Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn. The sophomore scored 15 points. 

Freshman Kasparas Jakucionis, the Fighting Illini’s leading scorer this season, struggled to shoot from the field, just 5-14, but was able to draw fouls and knock down 11 free throws. Jakucionis also committed seven turnovers as Terps point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie defended him tightly. 

Consecutive buckets from Reese early in the second half pushed the Maryland lead to 11 but Illinois again responded with an 8-0 run. Gillespie knocked down the Terps’ first 3-pointer of the contest with 12:16 remaining to stop the bleeding. 

Despite several runs from the Fighting Illini fueled by their home crowd’s energy, Maryland answered each time and showed a level of composure this squad hadn’t previously shown.

A late 21-9 run from the Terps fueled by Gillespie’s energy on both ends secured the victory. The Belmont transfer scored 15 points and recorded eight assists.

Maryland will look to continue its momentum on the road against Indiana on Sunday.