The Maryland men’s basketball team’s game against Illinois on Tuesday scared coach Mark Turgeon.
The sixth-year coach said the Fighting Illini are the biggest team the Terps have played all season, and his squad was without its top two frontcourt players — Damonte Dodd and Michal Cekovsky.
Yet the Terps attacked the basket through dribble penetration. Maryland outscored Illinois, 48-24, in the paint, and that aggression led to the Terps’ 84-59 win over the Fighting Illini at Xfinity Center, claiming its sixth straight victory and improving to 3-0 all-time in Big Ten home openers. It was Maryland’s largest win in a conference opener since 1974, and perhaps its most dominating performance of the season.
“I didn’t see it coming,” Turgeon said. “Offensively, we keep getting better. Guys are listening, guys are getting a better feel for each other and we were able to attack their big guys in ball screens. That was a heck of a win by a young team.”
Guard Melo Trimble, who entered with a team-high 17.7 points per game, led Maryland (13-1, 1-0 Big Ten) with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Forward Justin Jackson (12) and guards Anthony Cowan (12) and Jaylen Brantley (13) also finished in double figures. Guard Malcolm Hill, who entered the contest as the Big Ten’s third leading scorer (18.4 points per game), pushed for an Illinois (10-4, 0-1) comeback with 21 points.
The Terps have struggled at the start of games this season, forcing them to come back from four double-digit deficits. Instead of driving to the basket, Maryland has chucked up three-pointers at times, which irritated Turgeon.
Tuesday, the Terps followed Turgeon’s ideal playing style from tipoff.
Maryland jumped out to a 39-23 halftime lead while Cowan facilitated the aggressive playstyle. Trimble, Cowan and Brantley combined for 24 points in the half, while the team scored 26 points in the paint.
“They have guys who can not only get into the paint, but they have the ability once they get there to make decisions,” Illinois coach John Groce said. “Having two guys as primary ball handlers who can do that is huge for them. It gives them almost a two-headed point guard monster.”
Turgeon said he wanted his team to set a faster tempo after coming back from a first half deficit against Charlotte on Dec. 20. Maryland accomplished that. Without two of their forwards, the Terps’ quicker players drove into the lane at will, either finishing at the basket or setting up opportunities for teammates while the squad shot 56 percent. Illinois guarded Maryland’s shooters instead of collapsing more than two defenders when the Terps penetrated.
At halftime of past games, Turgeon has yelled at his team. But Tuesday, he encouraged his squad to continue penetrating. Maryland achieved that, beating Illinois off the pick-and-roll as the announced crowd of 17,950 hardly stayed quiet. Forwards Ivan Bender and L.G. Gill, who have struggled to find comfortable offensive roles while playing behind Dodd and Cekovsky, combined for 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Some critics worried about Maryland in Big Ten play due to the lapses it suffered in nonconference play, but the Terps put those to rest for one outing.
Turgeon said his team set the tempo on defense. Maryland held Illinois, which entered shooting 47.8 percent, to 36 percent shooting from the field and 18 percent from beyond the arc. Turgeon found out Dec. 25 that Cekovsky and Dodd wouldn’t play, so he had two days to create a defensive game plan after he gave his players four days off before Christmas.
“We had to play this way to win the game, and we were terrific in it,” Turgeon said. “We have been good in our double-teams all year and our timing was great, our rotations were great. They missed some shots for us early, but we were dialed into the game plan.”
Turgeon said health would be the key to Big Ten play, as Maryland has had an injured player in all but two games. The Terps looked to be at full strength Tuesday.
“If we’re going to play small, we have to get the ball and go as fast as we can,” Brantley said. “If we just keep pushing the ball, teams really can’t guard us.”
