Maryland Basketball: Takeaways from Terrapins victory over No. 17 Illinois

1. Spoiler Alert

Following Mark Turgeon’s abrupt departure and the 1-6 start to Big Ten play, it’s safe to say that Maryland will not make the 2022 NCAA Tournament. It’s questionable whether the NIT is even in play at this point. Playing out a lost season with an interim head coach in Danny Manning would understandably result in some lost motivation, especially when the home crowds have not been arriving in their usual numbers. However, the team I watched last night looked like one that was ready to compete. Danny Manning had them ready to play hard for 40 minutes.

And the fans noticed. After a relatively quiet night, the Terps faithful really started getting into it when Julian Reese canned his second triple of the game to give Maryland a 57-56 lead with about eight minutes to play. A team with nothing to play for can be a dangerous thing, and Maryland looks ready to be a major spoiler in Big Ten play.

UMD still has home matchups versus Indiana, Michigan State, Iowa, and Ohio State. The Terps won’t win all of these games, but they can throw a big wrench in the tournament hopes of other teams or knock them down a seed line or two.

Getting a win against a ranked team at home is a good way to keep a team motivated, and this could be the start of Maryland being a bump in the road for some other Big Ten opponents.