The program-record eighth road win in Big Ten Conference play allowed Illinois to secure a triple bye into the quarterfinals of the 2026 Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.

March 8, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Illinois survived for its program-record eighth road win in Big Ten Conference play needing a late run to put away an upset-minded Maryland effort.

David Mirkovic had 22 points and 11 rebounds including the final basket of Sunday afternoon for No. 11 Illinois as they held off Maryland 78-72.

Illinois (24-7, 15-5 in Big Ten) held on to a precarious 63-62 lead before Ben Humrichous made a 3-pointer, one of only five for the day for the Illini squad, that started a 7-0 run for the Illini to put the regular season finale away.

The Illini made it two in a row at Maryland after dropping the first seven contests in program history despite the Terrapins getting a game-high 30 points from Andre Mills. The win gave Illinois a bye into Friday’s quarterfinals in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament in Chicago. The Illini’s 24th overall win is the most for the program during the regular season in the last 20 years.

Mirkovic’s afternoon, when nearly everybody else on the Illini roster seemed to have an off game, gave him more evidence to be on the All-Big Ten Freshman team as he secured his double-double early in the second half. Mirkovic leads the Illini and ranks among the Big Ten leaders in total rebounds, rebounds per game (5th), defensive rebounds per game (5th), double-doubles (9th), offensive rebounds per game (9th) and nearly doubled his average scoring output on Sunday.

Maryland (11-20, 4-16 Big Ten) completed the program’s first 20-loss regular season since 1988-89 but the 15-point home underdog held Illinois to just 5 of 24 from 3-point range and kept likely Big Ten Freshman of the Year winner Keaton Wagler to just 11 points on 3 of 10 shooting.

Wagler went scoreless in a first half that saw Illinois hang on to a 37-34 lead and had almost as many turnovers (two) as field goals on the afternoon.

Mills had 19 of his 30 points, which represented the fourth time this season he had cracked the 20-point barrier in a game, in the second half but was just 2 of 8 from 3-point range. The Texas A&M transfer, who followed his head coach Buzz Williams to Maryland, misfired from beyond the arc with Illinois up 74-70 and just 29 seconds remaining to seal the result.

All eight players who saw action for Illinois recorded at least four points as the Illini matched Maryland’s bench production of 22 in the scoring column. Freshman guard Darius Adams added 14 points after being held to just 4 of 14 shooting when Illinois defeated Maryland 89-70 in Champaign on Jan. 21.

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood accounts for five of the nine-winningest Big Ten seasons in program history with a school-record 16 wins in 2021, 15 in 2022 and 2026, 14 in 2024 and 13 in 2020.

With Michigan and Nebraska both winning at home on Sunday, Illinois will have the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament after losing the tiebreaker scenarios of a three-way tie for second place in the league standings with Michigan State and Nebraska.