Rodney Rice scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the first nine minutes Friday night and second-seeded Maryland emphatically advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten Conference tournament by routing seventh-seeded Illinois 88-65 in Indianapolis.
Rice was 7 of 9 from 3-point range as the Terrapins (25-7), ranked 11th nationally, moved on to a matchup with third-seeded Michigan, which defeated sixth-seeded Purdue later Friday. Derik Queen added 19 points and 10 rebounds in just 23 minutes, while Ja’Kobi Gillespie chipped in 12 points and nine assists.
Jordan Geronimo came off the bench to tally 11 points and Julian Reese hit for 10 as Maryland canned 11 of 23 3-pointers and committed only three turnovers. It earned a whopping 22-0 advantage in points off turnovers.
Freshmen Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley each scored 15 points for the Fighting Illini (21-12), who are likely to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They are ranked 24th nationally. Kylan Boswell added 14, but it wasn’t enough as Illinois made only 23 of 63 shots from the field and coughed up 17 turnovers.
The final score doesn’t reflect how thoroughly the Terrapins dominated the first 30 minutes. They led 84-48 with 9:41 remaining before coach Kevin Willard started cycling starters out of the game. The Illini made the final score look more respectable with a game-ending 17-4 run.
Illinois hoped to match up better with Maryland after it absorbed a 91-70 beating at home on Jan. 23 wih 7-foot-1 center Tomislav Ivisic out of the lineup due to illness. But Ivisic and his teammates were almost helpless in the rematch as Rice went off early.
The Terrapins led by 20 before the under-eight-minutes TV timeout of the first half when Rice completed a four-point plays for a 36-15 lead.
When the Illini drew within 44-28 at the 3:53 mark, Willard used a timeout and his team responded.
Maryland ended the half with an 8-0 burst in the last 1:37, capped by two foul shots by Gillespie, and took a 57-31 advantage to the break.
–Field Level Media
