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First Look at Illinois Basketball's Game 19 Opponent: Maryland Terrapins

The Illini are at the end of a favorable stretch in their schedule, but they will still need to take care of business against the Terrapins
Pranav Hegde|
Jan 18, 2026; College Park, Maryland, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Darius Adams (1) reacts after forward Elijah Saunders (13) scores during the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
Jan 18, 2026; College Park, Maryland, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Darius Adams (1) reacts after forward Elijah Saunders (13) scores during the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

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Illinois Fighting IlliniMaryland Terrapins

Seven straight wins have Illinois (15-3, 6-1 Big Ten) feeling confident, centered and ... maybe just a little too comfortable – which is exactly when Maryland (8-10, 1-6) has lately tended to show up and ruin the vibes. The Illini roll into this matchup on Wednesday (6 p.m. CT, BTN) playing some of their best basketball of the season, but history looms large. And, unfortunately, recent history has been very kind to the guys in red.

The Terrapins have quietly become Illinois’ most annoying recurring problem, winning 12 of the past 15 meetings between the schools and sweeping the season series a year ago (by a combined 44 points, no less). It hasn’t mattered who is on the roster, where the game is played or how well Illinois is playing – Maryland games tend to devolve into physical, uncomfortable slugfests that test patience as much as execution.

This isn’t the Terrapins team of peak Big Ten terror, but it’s still a tricky matchup. For the Illini, this game is about more than extending a win streak – it’s about proving that this run is real, sustainable and finally strong enough to flip a matchup that has gone the wrong way for too long.

Maryland at a glance

The Terrapins are led by first-year head coach Buzz Williams, who is back on the East Coast after successful stops at Marquette, Virginia Tech and Texas A&M. Williams takes over for Kevin Willard, who guided Maryland to its best season in recent memory behind the famously nicknamed “Crab Five.” That entire group is now history – and so is much of the stability that came with it.

This year’s version of the Terrapins has struggled to find its footing in the Big Ten. Picked 13th in the preseason poll, Maryland has performed roughly at expectations, stumbling to an 8-10 overall record and a 1-6 mark in conference play. Outside of wins over Marquette and Penn State – both of which come with asterisks depending on your level of generosity – the Terrapins have largely come up short against power-conference competition.

To be clear, this is not a long-term teardown situation. Help is on the way, highlighted by a strong 2026 recruiting class that should give Williams the personnel needed to build the physical, defense-first identity he prefers. For now, though, Maryland looks like a team caught in transition – competitive, occasionally pestering, but not quite ready to consistently survive the Big Ten grind.

The Terrapins on the court

Key players

Maryland’s season was supposed to revolve around Pharrel Payne, the Texas A&M transfer expected to anchor the frontcourt and give the Terps a reliable inside presence. That plan unraveled quickly when Payne went down with an early-season injury, forcing Maryland to recalibrate on the fly. Since then, offense has been less about structure and more about survival.

Enter David Coit. The Kansas transfer and senior guard has emerged as Maryland’s offensive lifeline, capable of single-handedly keeping the Terrapins competitive on any given night. In Maryland’s most recent game, against Penn State, Coit put on a clinic by pouring in 43 points, knocking down nine three-pointers, and scoring from seemingly every spot on the floor.

Coit is joined in the backcourt by freshman guard Darius Adams, who has adjusted quickly to the college game. Averaging 12.5 points per game, Adams brings a smooth, confident scoring touch and doesn’t shy away from difficult shots. For a first-year player, his poise has been notable, especially on a team asking guards to shoulder a heavy offensive load.

Together, Coit and Adams form the backbone of Maryland's offense. When the Terps are competitive, it’s almost always because one – or both – of those players get going. Slow them down, and the Terrapins typically struggle to find consistent scoring elsewhere.

Offense

Offensively, Maryland keeps things fairly simple – and that simplicity is by design. The Terrapins lean heavily on five-out spacing and four-out, one-in alignments, often using their lone big as a ball-screen hub to free up guards and let them operate. There isn’t a heavy diet of intricate sets or long possessions designed to bend a defense over time. Instead, the offense is built around freedom, reads and trusting guards to make plays in space.

That approach puts a spotlight squarely on Coit, who showed against Penn State just how dangerous this system can be when everything is clicking. Colt was excellent at reading coverages, pulling up off screens, relocating for catch-and-shoot threes and attacking closeouts when defenders sold out on the perimeter. When Maryland is at its best, the floor is spaced, the ball moves quickly, and shots come early in the clock.

The tradeoff is volatility. This is an offense that lives and dies by the three-point shot. When the threes are falling, Maryland can score in bunches and hang around with just about anyone. When they aren’t, possessions can bog down quickly, and scoring dries up in a hurry. There isn’t always a reliable inside option to stop a run.

Defense

Defensively, Maryland looks like a lot of Big Ten teams on paper. The Terrapins play mostly man-to-man, mixing in some zone possessions to change rhythm and protect certain matchups. The issue isn’t scheme – it’s personnel. This roster is light up front, and that limitation shows up quickly once teams start attacking the paint.

Maryland simply doesn’t have the kind of interior presence it has leaned on in past seasons. There’s no Julian Reese or Derik Queen anchoring the defense, blocking shots and vacuuming up rebounds. The tallest player in the regular rotation is a 6-foot-10 freshman playing limited minutes, which leaves the Terrapins vulnerable against size, physicality and sustained pressure inside.

Because of that, defensive possessions can unravel quickly. Drives collapse the defense, rotations arrive late and second-chance opportunities become an issue when shots do go up. The zone helps mask some of those problems, but it also opens up space on the perimeter and along the baseline if the ball moves crisply.

Illinois vs. Maryland matchup

Despite Maryland’s recent success in the series, this matchup sets up far differently than it has in years past. The Terrapins arrive in Champaign short-handed and thin up front, which is a dangerous combination against this Illinois roster.

For the Illini, this is a clear opportunity to dictate terms. Illinois has a size and depth advantage across the floor and should look to lean into that early: pound the paint, control the glass and force Maryland to defend multiple options at once. With the Illini humming along and Maryland still searching for stability, the matchup tilts firmly toward the home side.

If Illinois stays focused and physical, this is the kind of game that should extend the winning streak and finally swing a matchup that has been a thorn in the program's side for longer than anyone around Champaign wants to think about.

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Pranav Hegde
PRANAV HEGDE

Primarily covers Illinois football, basketball and golf, with an emphasis on news, analysis and features. Hegde, an electrical engineering student at Illinois with an affinity for sports writing, has been writing for On SI since April 2025. He can be followed and reached on Instagram @pranavhegde__.

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