No. 11 Illinois meets Maryland with eyes on Big Ten triple-bye
No. 11 Illinois can clinch a triple-bye in next week's Big Ten tournament with a victory at Maryland on Sunday in College Park. But it might not even come to that.
If No. 15 Purdue wins Saturday at home over Wisconsin or if Iowa takes care of No. 9 Nebraska on Sunday, the Fighting Illini will be assured a top-four seed and a berth in the Big Ten quarterfinals Friday in Chicago.
As for Maryland, it is already locked into a first-round tournament game Tuesday against Oregon. All that's left to be determined is if the Terrapins are on the No. 16 or No. 17 seed line.
For Maryland to capture the tournament, it would need to win six games in six days next week. If Illinois gains a top-four seed, it would need to win three games in as many days to claim the banner.
Aside from the tournament implications, Sunday's regular-season finale will offer a matchup of dynamic freshmen: Andre Mills of the Terrapins (11-19, 4-15) and Keaton Wagler of the Illini (23-7, 14-5).
In an otherwise dismal season in which Maryland has compiled its worst record since 1988-89, Mills has emerged as a ray of hope, averaging 18.2 points over the last 10 games.
Meanwhile, Wagler has been a consistent force from the start. He averages team highs of 18.1 points, 4.3 assists and 0.9 steals per game.
In Tuesday's 80-54 win at home against Oregon, the spotlight fell on, arguably, the most inconsistent Illini player, Andrej Stojakovic, who produced 21 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
Stojakovic's promising performance came after he failed to score and had one rebound in an 84-70 loss to then-No. 3 Michigan.
"Obviously, I was frustrated with the game against Michigan," Stojakovic said. "At the end of the day, the coach is going to need each player to do what they do in order to win. Hearing the staff out and the game plan, that was most important."
It's been that kind of season for Stojakovic, the son of former NBA standout Peja Stojakovic, who has scored 20 or more points in seven games and has scored in single digits in 12 other games.
Much was expected from Stojakovic when he transferred from Cal after averaging 17.9 points per game last season.
"Not worrying about the yelling, the critiquing, don't take it to heart," Stojakovic added. "You just gotta put your head down and work."
Stojakovic scored a season-high 30 points in an 89-70 win over Maryland on Jan. 21. The victory came after the nemesis Terrapins had won in six of their previous seven trips to Champaign.
Maryland is coming off its third straight defeat, falling 78-45 at Wisconsin on Wednesday as the Terrapins scored their season low on 30.4% shooting.
"We didn't execute the plan from start to finish the way that we need to," Maryland coach Buzz Williams said.
It will be the final home game for Maryland starters Elijah Saunders and Solomon Washington and valuable reserves David Coit and Collin Metcalf.