5 big observations from the Illinois basketball win over Maryland

2. Big night from Marcus Domask

A lot of players have contributed to the success of the Illinois basketball program this season. I would argue the biggest player, and the biggest addition in the offseason, is Marcus Domask.

Domask has been a rock for the Illini this season. He found his footing early on after a rough start, but since the Rutgers game back in December, the sky has been the limit for this former Saluki.

Throughout the season, Domask has had some big games. He dropped 33 points against Florida Atlantic. He had 32 points against Northwestern. But one of his biggest nights, and what I believe was his biggest game of the season, came on Saturday afternoon.

Domask ended up dropping 19 points against Maryland, which was the most since February 4, but it was not close to his highest-scoring performance of the season. But scoring at a high clip doesn’t mean success. Doing it efficiently and doing things that improve the team does, though.

The 50% Domask shot from the field was tied for his fifth-best outing of the year. He only had two turnovers in 38 minutes of action, which is his seventh straight game with two or fewer turnovers.

On top of those efficient numbers, Domask was a monster on the glass. He finished the Maryland game with 12 rebounds, which led both teams. This was his best rebounding game of the season.

Domask is getting comfortable with Terrence Shannon Jr. back in the lineup. This is happening at the right time too. Illinois is going into the postseason with one of the most dangerous one-two punches in college basketball.