The last game of the regular season is upon the No. 11 Illini (23-7, 14-5), as they head to Maryland for a rematch with the Terrapins (11-19, 4-15). Coming off a dominant win over Oregon (12-19, 5-15) after losing four of its six previous games, Illinois is hoping that it can build on the positive things from that performance and finish Big Ten play on a high note.
“It’s been a big emphasis here in practice is keeping that mentality up and not letting that slip,” said head coach Brad Underwood. “It’s manufactured through every blockout and every defensive rebound. So we have to make sure we’re emphasizing that every day.”
Last time out
Illinois hosted Maryland in late January and came out on top by a significant margin, despite being without senior guard Kylan Boswell at the time. A 30-point outing by junior wing Andrej Stojaković led the way, spurring a massive run to close out the first half and ultimately leave the Terrapins in the dust.
At that time, the Illini had just extended their winning streak to eight games. Now, the Illini are in a situation where they’re back to proving themselves. They’ve split their last six games, and multiple players are trying to find some rhythm as the clock on the season winds down.
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“I think that there’s some inconsistencies I don’t like – there’s some positives I like,” Underwood said when asked about how he thought his team has changed since it last played Maryland. “I think offensively we’ve maintained a pretty good clip. I think that we’ve been a good rebounding team throughout. I think we’ve been a little inconsistent on the defensive side. So, I think there’s gives and takes with that. It’s a long season.”
Offensive rebounding, physicality
Although Maryland does not have the same size as Illinois, it is still a very strong rebounding team. Last season, now NBA rookies Derik Queen and Julian Reese were able to bully the Illini in the paint twice, but it’s a new-look Terrapin program this season. No longer does it have the sheer force and power of two of college basketball’s best big men – instead, it’s a more manageable front line.
“I looked the other night – Reese had 15 rebounds in a game, and Queen is arguably one of the most talented guys, was one of the most talented guys in this league last year,” Underwood said. “They were just dominant and with their front court play … they were a team last year that physically could overpower you.”
Now, Maryland’s leading rebounders are 6-foot-7 senior forward Solomon Washington and 6-foot-9 senior forward Pharrel Payne. However, Payne has been out since December, hurting the already undersized Terrapin front court. When Illinois beat Maryland earlier this season, that deficiency showed. Washington had 10 boards, but only one of his teammates was able to hit the five-rebound mark.
If the Illini focus on rebounding and asserting their size down low with two 7-footers, then Sunday’s matinee should provide a positive end to conference play. They won the rebounding battle 47-31 last time, and they’re confident they can do it again.
“They’re a really physical team,” said junior center Zvonimir Ivišić. “They’re going for offensive rebounds a lot, as long as we stop that, we’re going to be all right.”
Just keep shooting
Zvonimir and his twin brother, junior center Tomislav Ivišić, have both been in a shooting slump as of late. The junior centers have shot 1 for 10 and 5 for 26 from deep, respectively, over their last five games. The twins’ major selling point is that they are 7-footers who can stretch the floor and cause problems for more traditional bigs. However, that has not been the case as of late.
Per usual though, Underwood vocalized his confidence in his players when asked about the slump.
“Keep shooting them – keep shooting them,” Underwood said. “I mean, those are the shots that we’ve all seen (Tomislav) make over and over and over again. There’s not one of them that’s a tough shot. Not one of them that’s a shot that he’s not going to make. He’s been in the gym getting a ton of shots, and (I) spent some time in an individual workout with him the other day. The thing he’s doing is he’s impacting the game in other ways. His go rate on offensive rebounds was 97% the other night.”
Underwood wanting his players to work through their struggles is something that they find to be an attractive asset in a coach. However, they know that when things aren’t going right in one area, they can work hard to help the Illini in other areas.
“He’s not one of the coaches who if you miss three shots, he’s not going to tell you to stop shooting,” Zvonimir said. “But he’s also going to expect from you to not just shoot threes (but also) make rebounds, block shots, fight, be physical.”
Tournament talk
As the Big Ten tournament approaches, the final few scenarios for seeding are playing out on Sunday. The Illini are hoping to clinch a triple-bye and automatically send themselves to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. To do that, though, they have to beat Maryland.
Illinois will be a No. 4 seed should they win on Sunday, but it has an opportunity to move up to a No. 3 seed if a win is paired with Iowa upsetting Nebraska. Whatever happens with the other teams though, the Illini must take care of business on Sunday so they won’t have to play until Friday in Chicago.
“Everybody thinks rest is important,” Underwood said. “I think obviously the concept of three games in three days helps with the triple-bye if you want to get to the finals and stay a little fresher, but the reality is … the one that matters is the next week.”
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