No. 11 Illinois (16-3, 7-1) took care of business in its first game without senior guard Kylan Boswell, defeating Maryland (8-11, 1-7) 89-70 behind a 30-point performance from junior wing Andrej Stojaković. The Illini’s 25-4 run to end the first half extended their lead to 17 at halftime, and it was smooth sailing for them from there to the final buzzer. 

Stojaković was the one who led the charge, but Illinois wouldn’t have come away with the win without an overall team effort on both ends. In addition to Stojaković, three other Illini ended the contest in double-figures, proving that the Illini offense can survive without Boswell. Illinois also held Maryland’s top scorer, graduate student guard David Coit, to just 15 points on 5 for 15 shooting from the field.

“When Kylan exited practice, the intensity, the mindset for the team, the energy, it all stayed the same,” Stojaković said. “The last two days, we’ve been incredibly focused on the task that was today … Yes, it hurts to have somebody like that out, but we have the trust in each other to compete at the highest level we can.” 

Stojaković gets it done on both ends 

In Boswell’s absence, Illinois needed an extra boost offensively and defensively to fill his consistent role on both ends. From the jump, it was clear that it was going to come from Stojaković, and he showed that he leads the Illini in more ways than just scoring. Stojaković finished the contest with a season-high 30 points on 9 for 18 shooting from the field, including four triples. He also recorded nine rebounds and two blocks. 

“(Stojaković) has taken coaching at a really high level,” said head coach Brad Underwood. “ … Unbelievable teammate. Great listener. Unbelievable listener and terrific learner. He wants to learn. He wants to do the other things. You throw in nine rebounds tonight for a kid that in bye games, couldn’t get a rebound. He’s turning into one heck of a player.”

To start the game, Stojaković found his shooting stroke from beyond the arc, scoring his first points on back-to-back 3-pointers. This was a different look offensively from the junior, as he has struggled to be a consistent threat from three this season. However, knocking down a couple of triples benefitted him on Wednesday night as it opened up his usual driving lanes later in the game. If Stojaković continues to be a bigger threat from 3-point range, it will only become easier for him to score at the rim. 

It wasn’t solely Stojaković’s offensive performance that made the difference for the Illini, but his defensive one, too. Boswell is the usual go-to defender against opposing teams’ top scorers, no matter the position, but without him, Stojaković took on that challenge. By being the primary defender that held Maryland’s Coit to only 15 points after a 43-point game on Sunday, Stojaković proved he has grown as a defender and can hold his own. At 6-foot-7, Stojaković’s size and length held Coit to 1 for 8 from three, even getting a tipped block on one of his attempts. As Illinois faces some of the Big Ten’s best offensive players in the coming weeks, Stojaković needs to keep the same defensive intensity he played with on Wednesday moving forward.

“Kylan was going to be on Coit for the majority of the game if he weren’t out,” Stojaković said. “So, I know that making that a focal point of my preparation and my mindset going into this game. I know I had to make his game as hard as I could for him to make really hard shots.”

Although he continues to be one of Illinois’ top scorers, Illinois will need Stojaković to stay consistent in all areas outside of scoring to keep surviving without Boswell. If his complete game on Wednesday tells anything, it’s that Stojaković is ready to step up in any way that helps the Illini stay on the winning track.

Defense fuels offense for dominant first-half finish 

Despite a hot start from Stojaković, the Illini were still searching for the spark on the offensive end that would separate them from the Terrapins. However, it didn’t come from a certain player, but rather Illinois’ defensive effort fueling its offense. After a three-pointer from junior center Tomislav Ivišić with seven and a half minutes left in the first half, the Illini followed it up with blocks on back-to-back defensive possessions. From there, Illinois didn’t let up. 

Illinois went on to end the first half on a 25-4 run for the half’s final seven and a half minutes. During that run, everything was going right offensively for the Illini, and the Terrapins couldn’t seem to hit a shot. Maryland freshman guard Darius Adams started the game off hot, but fell off in his scoring during this stretch, and Illinois took advantage. Coit also didn’t score for about a 14-minute stint to finish the half, while the Illini couldn’t seem to miss. 

“We’re always good with forcing teams into uncontested twos,” Underwood said. “I think Adams got one downhill layup, but I thought for the most part, all of Coit’s were pretty contested. He had to work for them … We kept the same intensity and focus. They just missed. The biggest part of that was we held one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country to basically nil for them.”

Forcing the Terrapins into tough two-point shot attempts and rebounding those misses allowed the Illini to get the ball out in transition. This got them into their offense faster and didn’t give Maryland time to set up its defense, leading to quick ball movement and uncontested shot attempts. The run ended with Illinois up 17 at halftime, and Maryland couldn’t dig itself out of the hole in the second half.

Raining threes once again 

For yet another game, the Illini faced a bit of zone defense from their opponent, which led to numerous 3-point field goal attempts, especially in the first half. In the first 12 minutes of the contest, Illinois only took five shots that weren’t threes against Maryland’s zone. Luckily for the Illini, they didn’t shoot poorly from 3-point range, as over half of their field-goal attempts were threes. Shooting a high percentage from three ended up being one of the ways Illinois separated itself from Maryland.

In the first half, Illinois shot 40.9% from three compared to Maryland’s 33.3%. This differential allowed the Illini to build their lead late into the half and feel confident in that advantage going into the final 20 minutes. Although Illinois ended up with 40 of its 62 field goal attempts as 3-pointers, it didn’t negatively affect the outcome of Wednesday’s game because of Illinois’ ability to confidently hit those shots consistently. That also doesn’t mean that will be the offensive look the Illini go with every night. 

“The plan is to just see the ball go in,” Stojaković said. “We know we got guys who can shoot all over the floor. It just happened to be threes tonight. You know, there are games where we get a lot of paint points out of the gate. That just shows the skill we have.” 

Having players in the middle of the zone offense who are willing passers also makes all the difference for getting open looks from three. The correct decision-making from Tomislav and freshman forward David Mirković in the high post against the Terrapins’ zone allowed the Illini to knock down threes at a high percentage because they were less contested. 

“When we have bigs that can move the ball and shooters on the outside that can also drive, it makes the offense so much easier for us,” Stojaković said. “The connection we’ve built as a team, having David in the high post and Tomi down low, you know, it’s hard to beat it when you’re running a zone against us … We trust (Mirković) to make the right choice whether it’s kicking it out, shooting the floater he has or dumping it down to Tomi.”

Outmatched Terrapins 

Overall, Maryland couldn’t match Illinois’ talent, execution or intensity in any necessary way to gain an edge in this matchup. While the Terrapins played back and forth with the Illini for a little bit over halfway through the first half, they couldn’t keep up once the Illini started to get in their groove on both ends of the floor. Illinois’ size became too much for Maryland’s top offensive threats, and Maryland wasn’t able to find an answer. 

Even with junior center Zvonimir Ivišić on the bench for much of the game in foul trouble, Illinois didn’t have any problems defensively rebounding against one of the better offensive rebounding teams in the Big Ten. With Maryland’s shooting struggles near the end of the first half, defensive rebounding was key to limiting extra possessions for Maryland. Mirković, Stojaković, and freshman guard Keaton Wagler were the Illini’s leaders on the defensive glass, all grabbing six or more defensive rebounds. 

In comparison to the Illini, the Terrapins also didn’t have the amount of offensive threats that the Illini had, but not many teams in the nation do. When Maryland couldn’t get its key players consistent offensively, and Illinois was getting everyone involved, Illinois clearly had the upper hand. Even on a quieter night, Wagler still scored 13 points and dished out eight assists. Junior forward Jake Davis was solid from 3-point territory, scoring 12 points on 4 for 6 shooting. If the Illini can keep everyone involved as they did on Wednesday, there is no reason they can’t navigate the Big Ten without Boswell. 

@evy_york2 

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