Maryland beats No. 17 Illinois 91-70 and sends the Illini to their 3rd loss in four games

[January 24, 2025]  By STEVE STEIN

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Julian Reese had 27 points and 17 rebounds and Derik Queen scored 25 points to lead Maryland to a 91-70 victory over No. 17 Illinois on Thursday night. 

Illinois' Kasparas Jakucionis, right, looks to shoot shoots over Maryland's Ja'Kobi Gillespie (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Craig Pessman)

Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 15 points and Selton Miguel 14 for the Terrapins (15-5, 5-4 Big Ten), who won for the fourth time in five games, with the lone loss a buzzer-beater by Northwestern.

Kasparas Jakucionis had 21 points and seven assists and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn scored 15 points for Illinois (13-6, 5-4), which lost for the third time in four games and dropped consecutive games for the first time in two seasons. Kylan Boswell had 14 points and nine rebounds.

Illinois committed 16 turnovers that led to 27 Maryland points.

The Illini were without leading rebounder and No. 2 scorer 7-foot-1 Tomislav Ivisic, who was sidelined with strep throat.

Takeaways
Illinois: With Ivisic out and backup Morez Johnson Jr. ineffective, the Illini had no answer for Reese and Queen. Maryland outscored Illinois in the paint 62-34 and had a 40-36 edge in rebounds.

Maryland: The Terrapins won their first game on the road this season. They’re 1-5 on the road and 12-1 at home.

Key moment
Maryland led for all but 1:39 of the first half and was up by as many as 10 points. Leading by just three points at the break, Maryland outscored the Illini 53-35 in the second half.

Key stat
Illinois shot 5 for 24 on 3-pointers in a two-point loss Sunday at Michigan State and was 6 for 28 from distance against Maryland.

Up next
Illinois hosts Northwestern on Sunday. Maryland is at Indiana on Sunday.

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