Maryland Terrapins vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 01/23/2025

Game Time: 9:00 pm ET, Thursday, January 23, 2025

Venue:  State Farm Center, Champaign, IL

Where to Watch:  Fox Sports 1

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Maryland +7, Illinois -7; Over/Under:  157.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Maryland +7, Illinois -7; Over/Under:  157.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Maryland +7, Illinois -7; Over/Under:  157.5 points

Maryland Terrapins:  14-5 (4-4) (8th place, Big Ten)

Illinois Fighting Illini:  13-5 (5-3) (7th place, Big Ten)

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Maryland Terrapins:  3-2  last 5

Illinois Fighting Illini:  3-2  last 5

Maryland is entering this game with a 14-5 record overall, a 4-4 record in conference games, and they are 0-4 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a win against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in their last game. Ja'Kobi Gillespie led the team in points per game in that game with 22 while Rodney Rice was next on the team with 15. Ja'Kobi Gillespie led the team in assists with 5 in that game while Julian Reese led the team in rebounds with 10. They were 44.8% from the field, 40% from 3-point range, and 58.3% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 83.2 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 64.5 PPG against them. Maryland has an ATS record of 9-10 this season and their O/U record is 12-7.

Illinois is entering this game with a 13-5 record overall, a 5-3 conference record, and they are 8-2 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a loss against the Michigan State Spartans in their last game. Will Riley led the team in points in that game with 19 while Kylan Boswell and Tomislav Ivišić each were next on the team with 13. Tomislav Ivišić led the team in assists with 5 in that game while Kylan Boswell led the team in rebounds with 9. They were 42.4% from the field, 20.8% from 3-point range, and 63% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 86.8 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 68 PPG against them. Illinois has an ATS record of 9-9 this season and their O/U record is 10-8.

The current betting odds have Illinois listed as a 7 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Illinois has looked really good in their games this season with their 13-5 record overall and their 5-3 conference record which has them right in the middle of the Big Ten. They have looked great on their home court this year with their 8-2 home record too. Meanwhile, Maryland has also looked good in their games this season with their 14-5 record overall and their 4-4 conference record which has them right in the middle of the Big Ten. They have been a terrible road team though with their 0-4 road record this season. They are coming off a win over Nebraska in their last one, but that isn't an impressive win, especially with all of their Big Ten wins coming at home. Illinois has a lot more talent on their side as they are ranked inside the top 25 at the moment, but they have also proven themselves with some impressive wins this season. They have been blowing out a lot of conference opponents this year with some good road wins too, but now they are going to be back on their home court and will be looking to bounce back as they are coming off a tight 2 point loss to Michigan State in their last one. Illinois played a great game in that one and came up short, but they will bring their best effort here to bounce back with a win. The best way to place a bet here is on Illinois to cover the spread in this game. 

Maryland Illinois Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Thursday, January 23, 2025 (9:00 pm ET start time) is Illinois 77 Maryland 64.

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Maryland Terrapins: 10-17 1H ATS in road games. 6-11 1H ATS off a home win against a conference rival. 13-28 1H ATS vs. good free throw shooting teams - making 72% of their attempts or more. 7-4 OVER versus up-tempo teams averaging 62 or more shots/game. 

Illinois Fighting Illini: 26-17 ATS versus good defensive teams - shooting pct defense of 42% or less. 8-2 ATS versus up-tempo teams averaging 62 or more shots/game. 13-6 ATS versus good rebounding teams - outrebounding opponents by 4+ per game. 8-4 1H OVER as a home favorite of 6.5 to 12 points.

Maryland Terrapins:  C. Stephens (G) Questionable - Undisclosed. B. Pierce (C) Out - Eye. J. Long (G) Questionable - Knee.

Illinois Fighting Illini:  T. Rodgers (G) Out - Redshirt.

"I think everyone just needs to take a deep breath and realize he's a freshman going against fifth-year seniors. I mean, he's he's as talented of a player as there is and he's going to be in that three-letter league pretty soon. But he's also going through -- we're asking a freshman to do a whole lot in a league that's full of fifth-year Covid guys, physical guys. He's fine. He's going to figure it out. He's a smart player. He's playing a ton of minutes. He played a ton of minutes the other night at Northwestern. So he's going to struggle at times." - Kevin Willard on Derik Queen after his team’s win against Nebraska in their last game. 

"MSU did nothing defensively to stop Kasparas Jakucionis. When he did play, every bucket was easy. He was dicing them up." - Brad Underwood after his team’s loss against MSU in their last game. 

J. Gillespie 

S. Miguel 

D. Queen 

J. Reese 

R. Rice

K. Boswell 

B. Humrichous 

T. Ivisic 

K. Jakucionis 

T. White

PPG: D. Queen (15.1)

APG: J. Gillespie (4.3)

Reb/G: J. Reese (8.7)

PPG: K. Jakucionis (15.9)

APG: K. Jakucionis (5.3)

Reb/G: T. Ivisic (8.5)

Coaches:

Maryland Terrapins: Kevin Willard (3rd season)

Illinois Fighting Illini: Brad Underwood (8th season)