How to Watch No. 11 Illinois vs. Maryland: TV, Tip-Off Time, More

As extended winning streaks go, Illinois men's basketball's seven-game heater has been just lukewarm. Despite the metrics telling a story of dominance, the 11th-ranked Illini (15-3, 6-1 Big Ten) have appeared surprisingly vulnerable at numerous points during their midseason surge. In their previous three games alone, they led by just four points inside the final minute at Iowa, saw a 15-point second-half lead trimmed to four at Northwestern and were tied at the half against Minnesota on their own State Farm Center floor.

Then again, a 7-0 run in the Big Ten – which technically started with a beatdown of Missouri in the annual Braggin' Rights game – is nothing to sneer at. At its best, Illinois is an offensive hydra that can beat you in almost any way it chooses, and the defense is no longer pulling up the rear. In theory, Maryland (8-10, 1-6) won't even demand that the Illini bring their A-game to Wednesday's matchup in Champaign (6 p.m. CT, BTN), but it's a punk move to let your guard down in this league. Just ask Michigan (lost to Wisconsin) and Nebraska (edged winless-in-the-conference Penn State by three).

In any case, with a road date at No. 4 Purdue looming Saturday, the Illini will undoubtedly be reminded of the trap-game effect more than once in the hours leading up to tip-off against the Terps. Staying focused on the task at hand – Maryland – is the only way to ensure they can stroll into Mackey Arena this weekend having generated sufficient heat to pull off the upset in West Lafayette.

Here’s more information on Illinois' home matchup against the Terrapins:

How to watch Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Maryland Terrapins

No. 11 pic.twitter.com/oCpizXxJyt
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) January 19, 2026

Who: Illinois Fighting Illini (15-3, 6-1 Big Ten) vs. Maryland Terrapins (8-10, 1-6)
What: Big Ten matchup
When: Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 6 a.m. CT
Where: State Farm Center, Champaign, Illinois
TV/streaming: BTN
Radio/audio: Busey Bank Illini Sports Network (Champaign: WDWS 93.9 FM or 1400 AM; Chicago: WLS 890 AM); Fighting Illini Productions; Varsity Network App
Last week: Illinois needed to bite down to finish off a 79-68 win at Northwestern last Wednesday and a 77-67 win over Minnesota at home on Sunday, but the results ran their winning streak to seven games. Maryland snapped a four-game slide with a 96-73 win over Penn State in College Park on Sunday.
Series history: Illinois trails 8-17 in the all-time series, and have lost five of the past six contests and eight of 10. Last year, the Terrapins embarrassed the Illinis 91-70 at the State Farm Center, then bounced them from the Big Ten Tournament with an 88-65 defeat in the quarterfinals.

What to know about Maryland

The Terps are down – way down – from a year ago, which is by now ancient history. Buzz Williams has taken over for Kevin Willard, who guided Maryland into the Sweet 16 last March before leaving little in the cupboard on his way out the door to take the Villanova job. The Terps are one of only two Big Ten teams with a negative scoring differential on the season, and they are the conference's worst-shooting club while leading it in turnovers.

David Coit broke his own XFinity Center single-game scoring record with 4️⃣3️⃣ points in @TerrapinHoops’ 96-73 win over Penn State 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wvgsdiXlKj
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 18, 2026

To be fair, Maryland has been a different team without its big man Pharrel Payne (injured since mid-December). David Coit, a Kansas transfer, and freshman Darius Adams have had some explosive moments in the backcourt, but the Terps lack the depth of talent, experience and time together to be consistently competitive in their current state. (Check out the Illinois on SI First Look at Maryland for more details of the matchup.) That doesn't mean the Illini can look past them and expect a walk-through Wednesday.