After suffering its first loss in nearly a month Monday night, Maryland men’s basketball travels to Madison Square Garden to take on Illinois as part of the Big Ten’s fourth annual Super Saturday doubleheader (Michigan and Penn State will play hockey at the Garden later in the evening).
The No. 13 Terps converted 34.4 percent of their field goals against No. 6 Michigan State, their second-worst offensive performance all season. That was enough to slow the Terps despite a decent defensive effort, as the Spartans won 69-55. Fortunately for the Terps, a repeat performance against the Illini seems unlikely.
Illinois has struggled to a 5-14 record, though they are not quite as bad as their record indicates. Led by sophomore guard Trent Frazier, the Illini have a slightly above-average offense, scoring 73.5 points per game. They’ve shown flashes of brilliance, especially in a recent 27-point thrashing of Minnesota and in pushing No. 4 Gonzaga earlier this season. Still, this is a team that Maryland should have no problem putting away, especially given Illinois’ porous defense (75.3 points allowed per game) and struggles on the glass (36.4 rebounds allowed per game).
The numbers
No. 13 Maryland: 16-4, 7-2 Big Ten
Illinois: 5-14, 1-7 Big Ten
All-time series: Maryland leads 9-5
Odds: Maryland is a 10-point favorite
How to watch and listen
Saturday, Jan. 26, noon (ET), Madison Square Garden, New York
TV: Big Ten Network — Kevin Kugler (Play-by-Play), Jon Crispin (Analyst)
Streaming: BTN2Go
Radio: 105.7 FM (Balt) / 980 AM (DC), XM 195, Maryland Sports Radio Network (Johnny Holliday, Chris Knoche); WMUC Sports (Justin Gallanty, Connor Newcomb)