Listen Live: Maryland Vs Illinois [Live Audio] College Basketball
Listen to the play-by-play of the Maryland Terrapins game against the Fighting Illini on 105.7 The Fan, tip off at 7 p.m. at Xfinity Center in College Park, Maryland (no streaming).
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Where: Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
No. 12 Maryland is sliding in the wrong direction as the calendar turns to March and could uses some momentum heading into the Big Ten tournament. The Terrapins will try to bounce back from a stretch of three losses in four games when they host Illinois on Thursday.
Maryland entered the week in a three-way tie for second place in the Big Ten and is trying to hold off Michigan State and Wisconsin for the No. 2 spot in the Big Ten tournament. The Terrapins were flying through the schedule and looking like a team that could challenge for the top spot before falling to Wisconsin, Minnesota and Purdue within the last four contests. The Fighting Illini are sitting in 12th place in the 14-team conference heading into the final week of the regular season but could jump up to 10th if everything breaks right, which would help them avoid playing on the opening day of the tournament. Illinois ensured that it would avoid 13th place with an 84-71 win over Minnesota on Sunday but will play its final two regular-season games on the road.
ABOUT ILLINOIS (13-16, 5-11 Big Ten): The Fighting Illini are averaging 57.7 points in their last six losses while scoring an average of 89 in the last three wins. Junior guard Kendrick Nunn personified the inconsistency when he scored eight points in a 74-47 loss to Indiana on Thursday but went off for 25 in Sunday's win over Minnesota. Freshman Jalen Coleman-Lands was immune to that two-game swing and averaged 19.5 points in those two games to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.
ABOUT MARYLAND (23-6, 11-5): The Terrapins were in the running for a No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament before the recent downturn and are now looking more at the No. 3 or No. 4 spots on the bracket. Maryland star guard Melo Trimble is averaging 13.3 points in those last four games but has seen his shooting percentage take a dive by going 11-of-47 from the floor in that span. The Terrapins were crushed on the boards 41-22 in an 83-79 loss at Purdue on Saturday but still owns a plus-3.5 rebounding margin on the season against a minues-5.5 for Illinois.
TIP-INS
1. Illinois leading scorer G Malcolm Hill (18.2 points) has gone for 20 or more in three of the last four games.
2. Terrapins F Jake Layman is 12-of-14 from the field in the last two games.
3. Hill scored 28 points in a 64-57 home win over the Terrapins last season in the schools' first meeting as Big Ten opponents.
PREDICTION: Maryland 85, Illinois 70