Good things haven’t lasted long for Maryland men’s basketball in the 2025-2026 season.
After picking up its first Big Ten win Sunday against Penn State, Wednesday night’s road matchup against No. 11 Illinois went as many expected — a blowout.
Maryland hung in for the first 15 minutes, leading, but the Fighting Illini’s second-ranked offense in the Big Ten woke up. The Terps struggled the rest of the way en route to a 89-70 loss at State Farm Center.
“The skill set is tremendous,” head coach Buzz Williams said about Illinois. “Their skill allows them to play all over the floor. That’s why we were doing some things that we haven’t this season, until tonight.”
With the way both teams have been playing this season, Wednesday night was not out of the ordinary. Maryland (8-11, 1-7 Big Ten) has not been competitive against any ranked teams it has faced, and all seven Big Ten losses have been by double digits. Illinois (16-3, 7-1 Big Ten) has dominated inferior competition, posting an undefeated record against non-quadrant 1 opponents.
It was a complete mismatch between teams going in opposite directions. Illinois ranked near the top of the Big Ten in offense and defense, while the Terps are ranked last or near last in both.
Without what Williams calls a “video-game-like” performance from Diggy Coit, who scored just 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting, Maryland never had a chance to win.
Early on, it looked like the Diggy Coit magic might’ve traveled coast to coast then to the Midwest. He knocked down his first three shots and the Terps started 6-of-7 from the field. The hot shooting wouldn’t last. The Terps made just four of their next 21 shots before halftime, while Illinois jumped to a 25-4 run to take a 17-point lead.
Like many games this season, Maryland’s offense lacked juice. Solomon Washington was never supposed to be an offensive focal point, but he has stepped up in the absence of Pharrel Payne. He scored 13 points off the bench and led the team with 10 rebounds, but knocked down just 3-of-8 free throws.
Andre Mills was another bright spot off the bench. The redshirt freshman scored a team-high 16 points in 16 minutes — all in the second half — and knocked down 4-of- 5 three-point attempts.
Guard Myles Rice was back in the rotation on Wednesday, but continued to play below his expectations with just 6 points in 19 minutes. Isaiah Watts made another start but didn’t make any impact on the game. The only stats he recorded were two steals and a rebound in 15 minutes.
Darius Adams and Elijah Saunders looked like they might’ve turned a corner against Penn State, combining for 30 points, but both struggled offensively. Adams showed development by staying composed and finding open shooters on his drives, but shot just 4-of-14. Saunders scored just 6 points on six shots and never got to the line.
With 12 conference games remaining, head coach Buzz Williams is left with tough decisions on who he can trust going forward. The Terps haven’t found any consistency between health and performance and it will be too late even if they do.
Illinois didn’t have the same issues. Even without its second-leading scorer, Kylan Boswell, its offense had no issues against Maryland’s porous defense.
Andrej Stojakovic — son of long-time NBA player Peja Stojakovic stepped up in his place. The California transfer scored a season high 30 points and four three-pointers, despite shooting only 23.4% from three on the season coming in.
As a team, Illinois made 15 threes compared to just 10 for Maryland.
Four players scored in double figures and their size presented problems for the Terps. With four players 6-foot-9 and taller — including the 7-foot twins Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic — the Fighting Illini destroyed the Terps on the boards. Illinois grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, which led to 20 second-chance points.
“Obviously, the Terps this year can’t replicate [their size]”, Williams said. “The size is daunting, but the size is daunting before the ball is shot, and the size is daunting after the ball is shot. “Regardless of their size, their skill allows them to play all over the floor.
Maryland never made the game competitive in the second half. It was never within 15 points hasn’t proved it can compete against ranked teams. With back-to-back top ten matchups ahead against No. 10 Michigan State and No. 4 Purdue, it won’t get any easier for Maryland.
