Maryland (8-5, 0-2) vs. Illinois (10-3, 3-0)
January 6, 2021
State Farm Arena
7:00 pm EDT
COLLEGE PARK, MDÂ -Â The Maryland men's basketball team's two-game road trip continues Thursday when it takes on Illinois at State Farm Arena. It marks the second of a four-game stretch for the Terrapins to open the month of January, including three games on the road.
The game will be broadcast on the Maryland Sports Radio Network and ESPN2.Â
Maryland suffered a 80-75 defeat to Iowa on Monday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena its last time out, getting 19 points from
Eric Ayala and 16 from
Fatts Russell.Â
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ILLINOISÂ STORYLINES
Week of wins
- Maryland returned from a two-week break for final exams and the holidays last week when it handily defeated Lehigh, 76-55, and Brown, 81-67.
- It marked the end of a non-conference slate in which the Terrapins overcame a head coaching change on Dec. 3 and finished with three consecutive victories, including a win over then-No. 20 Florida on Dec. 12.
Ayala finding his form
- All-Big Ten senior guard Eric Ayala has scored at least 19 points in four consecutive games, shooting 26-of-50 (.520) from the field and .458 from beyond the arc.
- In the three previous games (all losses), Ayala had averaged just 7.0 points on 25-percent shooting.
PLAYING WITH HARTÂ
- Junior guard Hakim Hart has found his rhythm over the last seven games, averaging 12.9 points and shooting 34-of-58 (.586) from the field.
- Hart has reached double-figures in six consecutive games after reaching the mark just nine times in his first 55 collegiate games.
- Hart also currently ranks second in the Big Ten in steals/g (1.9) after a career-best five-steal performance vs. Lehigh (12/28). The Terps are 7-0 when Hart records two or more steals in a game.
LEAGUE OF HIS OWN
- Graduate guard Fatts Russell is the only active player in Division I with more than 1,700 points, 450 assists and 220 steals.
- He currently ranks 7th in free throws made (463), 12th in steals (224), 25th in points (1,758) and 36th in assists (458) among active Division I players.
TAKING DOWN THE TOP-25Â
- Maryland's victory against then-No. 20 Florida was its first non-conference win against a ranked opponent since defeating No. 13 Iowa State on Nov. 25, 2014.
- It had lost three straight such games prior to defeating Florida. Maryland is one of six teams in the country with at least four wins over ranked opponents each of the last three seasons (MSU, Michigan, Purdue, Iowa, Kansas).
SERIES HISTORY
- Maryland has won seven of its last eight matchups against the Fighting Illini, including four consecutive games at State Farm Arena.
- In the last meeting between the teams, Maryland pulled off a major upset victory over then-No. 12 Illinois, 66-63, at State Farm Arena despite being without then-leading scorer Eric Ayala due to injury.
- Darryl Morsell posted 19 points in the win, while Hakim Hart hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with just over a minute to play.
Click here for this week's game notes.
