Maryland vs. Illinois: 2019-20 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

In the biggest game in the Big Ten yet this year, Maryland faces Illinois in a showdown atop the Big Ten conference standings. Who will win?

Who: Maryland Terrapins (18-4, 8-3) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (16-6, 8-3)

When: Friday, February 7 at 8 PM ET

Where: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV Schedule: FS1

Round 2 of Maryland vs. Illinois tips off Friday night as the Terps come into Champagne, IL to take on the Fighting Illini. If the first matchup of the year is any indication, this game is all set to be a classic. That first one ended in heartbreak for the Illini, as UMD’s Anthony Cowan hit a cold-blooded 3-pointer to win the game for the Terps, who had come back from a 15-point deficit to win at home. These are not the same two teams who faced off in 2019, both have grown into themselves and greatly improved since then. With sole control of the Big Ten on the line, this showdown between two of the best in the league should be another wild one.

Illinois is led by NBA prospect wing Ayo Dosunmu and very-big man Kofi Cockburn. A very quick and talented scorer, Dosunmu was largely kept in check against the Terps in the first go-around. The sophomore only put up 9 points on 4/7 shooting, well below his season average of 15.8 ppg. Slowing him down again will be the Terps’ main goal on defense. At the bottom of the key, containing the 7-foot 290-lbs Cockburn will be an enormous task for Terps’ big Jalen ‘Stix’ Smith. Yes, the nickname “Stix” makes you wonder how much he can slow down the Illini big man from Jamaica. However, Cockburn only scored 9 points as well in the first matchup, though they often looked like child’s play to him.

In the first matchup between the two teams, both Cockburn and fellow not-quite-as-big man Giorgi Bezhanishvili got in bad foul trouble with 4 fouls each, limiting each of them to 21 and 26 minutes each. Conversely, Stix Smith only had 3 fouls in the whole game and managed to stay in for 33 minutes. If one of the bigs gets in foul trouble, it’ll really change up the game, taking out shot blockers and key scorers for both teams. Driving to the lane and trying to draw fouls will be an early strategy for both teams.

Speaking of Stix Smith, he has been on an absolute tear as of late, averaging 20.3 ppg, 11.7 rpg and 3.0 bpg in Maryland’s last six games, while also being named to the Wooden Watch top 20 finalists list. The big man is long, can shoot from range, run the floor, and block shots, and has shown no signs of slowing down. Smith won’t be able to get it done alone against Illinois though. Senior Anthony Cowan is almost guaranteed to step up, but one of the trio of Darryl Morsell, Aaron Wiggins, or Eric Ayala will need to play well for the Terps to pull out the road win.

The Terps have won their last two games on the road but sit at a tough 2-4 away from home this season. The Terrapins’ only losses this season have been in true road games. On the other side, Illinois has only lost one home game this year, an 81-79 defeat to Miami (FL) that has been the low point of an otherwise stellar season for the Fighting Illini. Coming off a tough road loss at then 18-ranked Iowa, Illinois will be looking to right themselves again as they defend their home court.

Overall, the team that stays out of foul trouble and is able to get hot from deep will likely be the one to pull out the win. Maryland has gotten out to much faster starts in their more recent games, bucking an early-season trend, one which Illinois took advantage of in the first meeting of the teams. However, Illinois has a plethora of scorers and homecourt advantage, so they are rightly favored this game. In such a hotly contested Big Ten conference this year, every game counts, and this one is even bigger than most.

Final Prediction: Illinois – 83, Maryland – 75