Pregame Guide and Prediction: #11 Illinois vs Maryland

Coming off their 7th consecutive win, #11 Illinois 15-3 (6-1) welcomes Maryland 8-10 (1-6) on Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m.

This game is placed in the typical "look ahead" spot. Illinois heads to West Lafayette on Saturday to face a top 5 team in the nation, but they will have to get this one done first to enjoy it. Maryland has owned Illinois in the Brad Underwood era. The only way to express it is to state it bluntly. Illinois is 3-9 against Maryland in the Underwood era. It does not matter how good or bad the Terps are, they almost always seem to find a way to beat the Illini. I would sure hope that this alone helps make this look ahead spot more difficult to lose focus in.

If that alone doesn't make you feel better, Maryland is in year 1 of the Buzz Williams era. After the Kevin Willard March saga ended, Maryland hired Williams from Texas A&M. He was supposed to be a coach that would bring a high floor to any program he is at. Well, maybe in the future it will be true, but this Maryland season has been a disaster. With hopes of going back to the NCAA Tournament, the Terrapins have serious work to do if they want to achieve that goal. Maryland lost their best player due to injury. Pharrell Payne was a physical force in the paint, and without him, Maryland lacks good Big Ten frontcourt pieces.

Maryland is coming off their first conference win of the season after the Terps destroyed Penn State 96-73 and led by 30 at half. That result was actually able to currently get this game into quad 3 status rather than quad 4. Diggy Coit starred for Maryland as he dropped 43 points and continues to be one of the few bright spots on the team.

Here is everything you need to know about the Terps:

Maryland is led by David "Diggy" Coit. Standing at 5'11, although I really believe he is smaller than that, Coit is an electric scorer of the basketball. He played two years at NIU, where he tore up the MAC before transferring to Kansas two offseasons ago. Having a difficult time carving out a role for Bill Self, Coit entered the portal again and is now at Maryland. He is averaging 15.4 ppg, and the level of difficulty on his shots is unreal. Coit is quick and shifty, which helps make up for his lack of height. Coit is hitting at a 40% clip from beyond the arc, so Illinois can't let him get good looks early. He is ready to launch any shot if given the smallest room of space. He knows that Maryland needs him to have a career night to pull off an upset, so I would expect Coit to play fearlessly.

Coit's backcourt mate, Darius Adams, gives Maryland some youth and hopefully a piece they can build around in the future. Adams was a top 30 freshman in this year's loaded freshman class. He is averaging 12.6 ppg, but like many freshmen, the efficiency is lacking. He is still learning what it's like to be a starting guard in the Big Ten. Adams needs to get stronger and more consistent. He is going to be a great college basketball player one day. These talents can go off on any night and show why they were ranked so highly. Illinois can't put their sole focus on Diggy Coit and forget about Darius Adams.

Maryland's frontcourt is extremely thin following Pharrell Payne's injury. The Terrapins' best big is Solomon Washington. He is only 6'7, but he rebounds the ball better than his height suggests. He played for Buzz Williams in his first three years at Texas A&M and followed Buzz to Maryland. Elijah Saunders is the other forward Maryland relies on heavily. Saunders transferred in from Virginia this offseason. Saunders is a good shooter and pretty physical down low. He is only 6'8, so I would hope that Illinois' height advantage is too much for them to handle.

Maryland also has Myles Rice come off the bench. After a stellar freshman season at Washington State, Rice was a highly sought-after point guard in the portal and wound up in Bloomington. Rice struggled to play at a high level and entered the portal again to where he comes off the bench. A common lesson I'm seeing in many of these stories is that you don't need to go through the portal when you already have something good, but that's just my opinion.

Overall, this team simply isn't good. Without Pharrell Payne, it is one of the worst high-major basketball teams in the country. It would take a lot for Maryland to pull off the upset.

Here are my keys for an Illini victory:

Do not make this a look ahead spot. We all can't wait to see Illinois and Purdue battle on Saturday, but the Illini have to take care of business at the game in hand. All games count the same towards the Big Ten standings, and this is no exception.

Illinois has to be active on the defensive glass. Maryland isn't elite at anything, but despite the lack of height, they are pretty good on the offensive glass. Illinois just has to box out and grab the ball with two hands.

Do not foul. Illinois is number 1 in the country in defensive free throw rate, so this does not worry me. Illinois held Minnesota to 3 free throws, and Minnesota is even better at getting to the line than Maryland.

Take the three away from Diggy Coit. The only way Maryland has a chance is if Diggy Coit puts on another masterclass from the 3-point line. I would start with Kylan Boswell on him, but I wouldn't be reluctant to put Keaton Wagler or Andrej Stojakovic on him because their length could bother Coit.

Prediction:

Given Illinois' losing pedigree to Maryland and the fact that this is the first game with the Orange Krush back will eliminate any chance of an Illini team not being ready. I like the Illini to win big in this one.

I'll take Illinois 88-65

It's the Ben Humrichous game