Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Maryland

1 of 6

NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 26: Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood during the first half of the Big Ten Super Saturday College Basketball game between the Maryland Terrapins and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 26, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Illinois basketball team pulled off an incredible win on Saturday against the Maryland Terrapins.

This game did not start well for the Illini. They were getting outplayed by the Terrapins. Maryland kept scoring more points than Illinois early on and, eventually, went up by 10 points with 9:44 left in the first half. As an Illini fan, this made me nervous and a little part of me lost some hope.

Illinois went on a little run, but Maryland came back and actually extended the lead. The Terrapins were up 32-21 with 4:30 left in the first half. Something needed to happen for Illinois and it did. Ayo Dosunmu went on a 9-0 run by himself, and the Illini were only down 34-30 at halftime.

Right out of the gate in the second half, Maryland got their lead up to eight points. But, once again, Illinois fought back. The Illini went on a 12-2 run to take the lead 42-40. Maryland took the lead back and got the deficit up to five points with 14:34 left in the game. They were actually able to hold onto that lead until 5:19 left in the game. That is when Illinois tied it up at 59-all.

Illinois ended up turning on the jets late in the game. They finished the contest on a 19-8 run. The Illini came away with the win over Maryland, 78-67.

Here are five observations from the Illini win over Maryland.

Home/Illinois Basketball