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Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini loss to Maryland

By Rees Woodcock

Jan 21, 2022; College Park, Maryland, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood looks onto the court during the second half against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2022; College Park, Maryland, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood looks onto the court during the second half against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 21, 2022; College Park, Maryland, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Alfonso Plummer (11) makes la move to the basket as Maryland Terrapins forward Julian Reese (10) chases during the first half at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2022; College Park, Maryland, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Alfonso Plummer (11) makes la move to the basket as Maryland Terrapins forward Julian Reese (10) chases during the first half at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Plummer is back in form

There isn’t a lot of positives you can take from the game against Maryland. This Illini team got their butts handed to them, but one positive I could take is Alfonso Plummer seems to be back in form.

I was a little worried about Plummer. He had a rough four-game stretch where he wasn’t hitting shots at a high clip.

Against Minnesota, he was 0-of-3 from three-point range. He followed that performance up with a 2-of-8 showing against Maryland the first time around. Plummer would then go 1-of-5 against both Nebraska and Michigan.

So, in that four-game stretch, Plummer would shoot 4-of-21 from three-point range. Obviously, going 19% from the three-point arc is not good. But, over the past two games, Plummer is starting to get his groove back.

Plummer managed to go 6-of-12 from three-point range against Purdue. His big 24-point performance was crucial in helping Illinois take the Boilermakers to double overtime.

On Friday night, Plummer once again had a good game. He would end the Terrapins game with 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting from three-point range. He now has back-to-back games with three-point shooting percentage north of 45%. That is what I like to see.

Despite the loss to Maryland and Purdue, it is nice to see Plummer starting to click again. If we could just get Kofi healthy, I believe this Illinois team is a top 15 team in the nation.

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