Maryland men’s basketball struggles in the paint; falls 70-89 to Illinois

Photo by Kevin Snyder/Maryland Terrapins. Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.

Seemingly never-ending scoring droughts have often doomed Maryland men’s basketball this season. The Terps’ stretch to end the first half against Illinois was just the latest.

Maryland led 26-22 with 7:58 left in the first half, but made only two of its final 14 field goal attempts, allowing a 25-4 Illinois run in the process.

A 17-point halftime lead was all the Fighting Illini needed, as the Terps fell 70-89 on Wednesday at State Farm Center in Champaign, Il.

“[We had] spurts where we were good, the first 10 minutes … but in order to win these games, as you know, 40 minutes is required,” coach Buzz Williams said.

The seven-game absence of leading rebounder Pharrel Payne hadn’t harmed the Terps (8-11, 1-7 Big Ten) in the rebounding margin – except for a -11 rebounding deficit against USC on Jan. 13. In Maryland’s eighth game without Payne, Illinois took advantage.

The Fighting Illini (16-3, 7-1 Big Ten) outrebounded the Terps 47-31, including 15 offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points.

Senior Collin Metcalf played only 13 minutes, leaving Maryland without a true center for much of the game. Freshman forward Aleks Alston is 6-foot-10 but is more of a perimeter player, meaning the Terps’ tallest player in the paint was often 6-foot-8 forward Elijah Saunders. The senior averages only 4.6 rebounds per game.

Five players 6-foot-9 or taller logged minutes for Illinois on Wednesday. Junior center Tomislav Ivisic and freshman forward David Mirkovic combined for 16 rebounds and 24 points. 

“They’re the tallest team in the country [by] average height,” Williams said. “The size is daunting before the ball is shot, and the size is daunting after the ball is shot.”

Just as the Terps couldn’t match the Fighting Illini’s height, they had no answer for junior forward Andrej Stojakovic.

The Cal transfer poured in a season-high 30 points, nine rebounds and converted all eight of his free throws. Senior guard Kylan Boswell, Illinois’ second-leading scorer, missed the contest with a hand injury, giving Stojakovic the green light

Graduate guard Diggy Coit, who entered the contest off a career-high 43-point explosion against Penn State on Sunday, dueled with Stojakovic early in the first half, but tapered off. Coit finished with 15 points on 5-for-15 from the field. He made one of his eight 3-pointers just three days after netting a career-high nine threes.

Without Payne, Maryland’s offense has often gone only as far as Coit could take it. Wednesday night was no different. The Terps shot 40% from the field and made 10 of their 32 attempts from behind the arc as they slogged through an off-night from Coit. 

Maryland couldn’t find solace at the free-throw line either.

The Terps, a 74.5% free-throw shooting team, uncharacteristically missed eight of their 16 free throws. They also sent Illinois to the line for 28 free throws – the second-most Maryland has allowed this season.

“We fouled them way too much,” Williams said. “That’s probably the highest number of free throws [Illinois] has given up in a while, we just didn’t make the percentage of free ones that we have to.”

Earning trips to the free-throw line was one of the core tenets of Maryland’s offense earlier this season. Since Payne’s injury, the Terps have needed to adjust. Maryland’s opponents have attempted more free throws in seven of the eight full games Payne has missed.

With matchups against two more ranked opponents looming, Maryland may need to reassess its offensive identity.