David Mirkovic delivered 22 points and 11 rebounds as No. 11 Illinois outlasted Maryland for a 78-72 Big Ten victory on Sunday in College Park, Md.
In a game that was tight throughout, Keaton Wagler scored all 11 of his points in the second half as the Fighting Illini (24-7, 15-5 Big Ten) completed a regular-season sweep of Maryland for the first time since the Terrapins joined the Big Ten in 2014-15.
Kylan Boswell added 11 points as Illinois clinched a top-four seed in the Big Ten tournament and earned a triple bye into Friday’s quarterfinal round in Chicago.
The Illini, with the most efficient offense in the nation according to KenPom.com, missed nine straight 3-point attempts during one stretch, allowing the Terrapins to stay close.
Illinois made 47.3% of its shots from the field and hit 21 of 26 free throws, which helped them overcome a 5-of-24 performance (20.8%) from deep.
Andre Mills scored 30 points to pace Maryland (11-20, 4-16), which enters the Big Ten tournament as the No. 17 seed and will face No. 16 Oregon on Tuesday afternoon.
Darius Adams scored 14 points and David Coit, who was one of four Terrapins honored on senior day, added 10 points.
In a game that was tied 13 times, Maryland never led in the second half, but wouldn’t go away.
Illinois got the game’s biggest lead 70-62 with 4:42 left when Zvonimir Ivisic (eight points) made two free throws.
The Terrapins got two buckets apiece from Mills and Adams as they cut the deficit to 72-20 with 1:33 left, but they didn’t make a field goal the rest of the way. Mirkovic wheeled inside for a layup with 59 seconds left to help the Illini sew it up.
In the first half, with Wagler taking only three shots, the Illini worked through their frontcourt. Mirkovic, Jake Davis (eight points) and the Ivisic brothers, Tomislav and Zvonimir, combined to provide 12 of Illinois’ 14 field goals and six of its nine assists.
A putback by Mirkovic with 1 second left in the half gave Illinois a 37-34 lead.
For the game, Illinois held a 42-20 edge in points in the paint.
