Box Score CHAMPAIGN, IL – Maryland men's basketball picked up its first road conference win of the season, upsetting No. 10 Illinois, 76-67, on Sunday at State Farm Center. The win was Maryland's first AP Top 10 road win since a 70-64 victory at No. 6 Wisconsin on Dec. 28, 2020.
Big Ten teams ranked in the top seven of the conference were previously 19-0 in home games this season. Maryland was the first team to defeat a top-seven conference team on the road.
The Terps (11-6, 3-3 B1G) big win was bolstered by performances from Jahmir Young and Julian Reese. Both players combined for 48 points and helped the Terps dominate inside the paint.
Reese recorded a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. It was his eighth double-double of the season and the 15th of his career. Young added 28 points and eight assists for his ninth game of the season and 50th of his career scoring 20-plus points. This marks the first time that a pair of Terps scored 20+ points on the road in a conference win since Jan. 25, 2022, when Fatts Russell (23 points) and Eric Ayala (22 points) helped lead the Terps to a 68-60 win over Rutgers.
Illinois was a team that excelled in scoring inside all season, but Maryland held a 52-26 advantage scoring in the paint.
The Terps had a strong first half as they headed to the locker room trailing by two points and down 39-37. They outscored the Illini 39-28 in the second half to complete the upset.
Maryland's defense held Illinois to just 6-of-22 from the three point line to go along with 32.8 percent shooting from the floor for the game. In the second half alone, Illinois was limited to 9-of-40 for 22.5 percent and 1-of-12 on three-pointers.
The Illini had won seven in a row at home since Nov. 14 when they fell to No. 4 Marquette. However, the Terps have defeated Illinois three times in a row and won 10 of its last 12 against the Illini dating back to 2016.
Illinois (12-4, 3-2 B1G) has dropped two of its last three games. Marcus Domask led the Illini with 26 points. The Fighting Illini came into the game winning five of its last six games.
Breaking Down the Action
- Illinois hit four threes, including three from Luke Goode, in the opening eight minutes of play to build out a 20-11 lead forcing a Maryland timeout at the 11:42 mark.
- The Terrapins would go on a mini-run to cut the deficit to four after a pull up by Jahmir Young to make it a 28-24 game with 6:36 in the first half.
- A Noah Batchelor triple from the corner tied the game at 33-33 at the 3:09 mark as the Terps hit 8-of-12 from the floor in a seven-minute span.
- A basket by Julian Reese gave the Terps a 35-34 lead with 1:43 left in the first half. This marked the first lead for the Terps since a 2-0 lead to begin the game.
- Young and Reese both ended the opening stanza in double figures as the Terps came back from a nine-point deficit to trail 39-37 at the half.
- Buckets by Young and Reese gave the Terrapins the early lead in the second half 41-39.
- The Terps took a 47-46 lead into the under-16 break after a dunk by Reese.
- The Terps would extend their lead to six as a jumper by Young would give them a 58-52 lead at the 8:16 mark.
- A three-pointer by DeShawn Harris-Smith gave the Terps a 66-59 lead with 4:00 to go in the second half.
Willard's Take
"Really proud of the defensive effort in the second half," Willard said. "I thought that was phenomenal. Holding this team to 33 percent and 28 percent is really good on the road."
From The Guys
"I definitely felt a little bit disrespected, especially with Hawkins being this smaller defender, more perimeter defender," Reese said about his mindset with the ball in his hands. "I felt a little bit disrespected so we tried to go at him. I told the coach to give me the ball and you see what happened."
Double-Figure Factors
- Jahmir Young (28 points) dropped double-figures for the 121st time in his career and the 15th time in 16 games he's played this season. It's also the 12th game in a row that he's played and scored double-digits.
- Julian Reese (20 points) had the 42nd double-figure game of his career, with the junior doing so for the 13th time this season.
Fear The Jahmir
- With 28 points in the game, Jahmir Young added to his career scoring total and now has 2,292 points. He is the second-leading active scorer in the nation behind Texas' Max Abmas (2,850).
- Young is the only active player in the nation with 2,000+ points, 600+ rebounds and 400 assists as he has 2,292 points, 689 rebounds and 430 assists.
- Young now has 871 points in his second season at Maryland. He is closing in on being the sixth NCAA player since 2006 to post 1,000 points at two different institutions.
- Young was one of the top scorers nationally in December. The fifth-year senior ranked 7th nationally with a 24.2 point per game average (the third-best average among Big Ten players) despite missing one game.
Scott Climbing the Charts
- After scoring nine points, Donta Scott increased his career total to 1,504 which is 19th all-time. He's now 57 points away from next on the list, Greg Manning, who scored 1561 points from 1977-81.
- Scott grabbed five rebounds to increase his career total to 790, good for No. 10 all-time. Next on the list is Al Bunge with 795 boards from 1957-60.
- Scott is eighth in career 3-pointers made. With one in the game today, he now has 185 for his career. Next on the list is Johnny Rhodes (1992-96), who made 186.
- Scott played in his 146th career game as a Terp to add to his all-time school record for games played. Scott also started his 131st career game which ranks second most in program history. The school record is 136 by Steve Blake (1999-2003).
Juju Beast
- Julian Reese recorded his eighth double-double of the season and the 15th of his career with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
- Reese is closing in on becoming the 60th player in program history to score 1,000 career points. With 20 points in the game today, he needs 195 more points.
Numbers To Know
- 1: The Terps were the first Big Ten team to defeat a top-seven conference opponent at home this season.
- 1: Maryland won its first road game against a Top-10 opponent for the first time since Dec. 28, 2020 (at No. 6 Wisconsin).
- 3: Maryland has won three games in a row vs. Illinois and 10 of the last 12 in the series.
- 7: The Terps had only seven turnovers.
- 8: Julian Reese had his eighth double-double this season.
- 24.2: Points per game during December for Jahmir Young - the seventh most nationally & 3rd in the Big Ten.
- 28: Young scored 28 points, equaling his second-most in a game this season.
- 50: Young scored 20-plus points for the 50th time in his career.
- 52: The Terps outscored Illinois 52-26 in the paint.
- 63.3 Points per game allowed entering the matchup this season which ranks 19th nationally. It's on pace to be the Terps' fewest PPG surrendered in a season since 1959-60 (61.2).
- 131: Games started for Donta Scott, which is second in school history.
- 800: Reese reached 800 career points with a dunk in the second half.
- 1,500: Scott scored seven points in the first half to eclipse the 1,500-point mark for his career.
Up Next
- Maryland remains on the road for a game against Northwestern on Jan 17. The game will tip-off at 9 p.m. ET, at Welsh Ryan Arena. It will be televised on Big Ten Network and fans can listen on Maryland Sports Radio Network.
