BREAKING: No. 2 Maryland dominates No. 7 Illinois, advances to Big Ten Tournament Semifinals
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It's safe to say that the Maryland Terrapins made a massive statement on Friday night. In a 88-65 pummeling of the Fighting Illini, the Terps put the remaining tournament contenders on notice that they're coming for it all.
It started with sophomore guard Rodney Rice. Following his snub from the All-Big Ten team earlier this week, Rice made it clear that he was entering tournament play with a chip on his shoulder. He came out on fire, scoring 14 of Maryland's first 24 points. At the half, Rice led all scores with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor (5-of-7 from beyond the arc).
With Rice on fire and leading the way, the Terps took a commanding 57-31 lead into the half. Those 57 points are the most that Maryland has ever scored in the first half of a tournament game, highlighting just how impressive their performance was.
It was more of the same in the second half, as Maryland continued to assert its dominance over Illinois. By the time the clock hit 0:00, the Terrapins had secured a 88-65 victory.
Notable performances:
- Julian Reese: 10 pts, 5 reb
- Derik Queen: 19 pts, 10 reb
- Ja'Kobi Gillespie: 12 pts, 9 asst
- Rodney Rice: 26 pts, 2 asst
- Jordan Geronimo: 11 pts, 5 stl, 5 reb
The Terrapins now await their next opponent, facing the winner between No. 3 Michigan and No. 6 Purdue. The Terps will take on the winner of Purdue/Michigan on Saturday at 3:30 on CBS.
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Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.
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