Opponent: Illinois Fighting Illini (5-14, 1-7 Big Ten)
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City
Tipoff: Noon EST, Saturday, Jan. 26
Last game: No. 13 Maryland lost to No. 6 Michigan State 69-55, Illinois lost to Wisconsin 72-60
Last meeting: Dec. 3, 2017 — Maryland 92, Illinois 91 (OT)
Odds: Maryland (-9), per Odds Shark
Kenpom prediction: Maryland 78, Illinois 68
TV: BTN — Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Jon Crispin (analyst)
Streaming: BTN2Go
Radio: Maryland Sports Radio Network (105.7 FM Baltimore, 980 AM D.C.) — Johnny Holliday (play-by-play), Chris Knoche (analyst) and Walt Williams (sideline)
What to watch for Maryland: Keeping up in transition
Against Michigan State, the Terps got burned time and again in transition — the Spartans racked up 29 points on fast breaks, which accounted for more than 40 percent of their scoring. Maryland could have similar problems against Illinois, which leads the Big Ten in adjusted tempo, according to Kenpom. Brad Underwood likes to push the pace, and Mark Turgeon will need to make sure his team is ready.
If you take out fast break points, Maryland is winning right now, 40-36.
No, YOU'RE grasping at straws.
— Terps Watch (@TerpsWatch) January 22, 2019
What to watch for Illinois: Foul trouble
To say the Fighting Illini have committed a lot of fouls this year is an understatement. They’re averaging 21.4 personals per game, the most of any Power Five school. An Illinois player has fouled out 14 times this year; that’s only happened to Maryland twice (Bruno Fernando vs. Delaware and Anthony Cowan vs. Virginia). The Terps have shot well from the charity stripe this year — they’re second in the conference in free-throw percentage — and they’ll look to capitalize on the Illini’s fouling tendencies.
