Maryland men’s basketball vs. No. 11 Illinois preview

The first regular season for Maryland men’s basketball under Buzz Williams has been an excruciating one.

The first omen was requiring a miracle 3-pointer by George Turkson Jr. to defeat UMBC in a preseason exhibition. Less than two weeks later, a Georgetown team that’s now dead-last in the Big East standings spoiled the Terps’ home opener — and it wasn’t exactly close.

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It took a 41-point performance by Diggy Coit to avoid losing to Mount St. Mary’s at home. The following week, Maryland lost to No. 16 Alabama and No. 12 Gonzaga by a combined 71 points in the Players Era Festival.

Pharrel Payne first got injured in a seven-point win over Marquette. He miraculously came back just a week later — then re-injured himself in mid-December.

Nearly three months after Payne’s season-ending injury, the Terps have 15 conference losses. That’s the most in a single season in program history, with more Big Ten games to go.

But, at long last, the regular season comes to a close Sunday at Xfinity Center with Senior Day against No. 11 Illinois. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m., with Senior Day festivities taking place in the hour before tipoff. The game will air on Fox.

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What happened last time

Maryland’s last matchup with the Fighting Illini, on Jan. 21, was cold water to the face for a team fresh off a 23-point win over Penn State, courtesy of another Coit 40-piece.

The rotation Williams rolled out looks nothing like the one he’s used to close out the year. Coit, Darius Adams and Isaiah Watts made up a three-guard lineup with Elijah Saunders and George Turkson Jr. in the frontcourt.

Turkson was only used for the tip, though, playing four minutes while Solomon Washington subbed in immediately to play 25 minutes. Aleks Alston also played 22 minutes — he hasn’t reached 20 in a game since.

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6-foot-7 Illinois guard Andrej Stojakovic isn’t nearly the shooter his dad Peja was — Andrej shoots just 23.9% from 3-point range — but Maryland fans…

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Publish date : 2026-03-07 12:00:00

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