3 Bold Predictions for Illinois Basketball vs. Maryland

2. Illinois will shoot over 40 percent on threes

Rhyme or reason? There has been none of it when trying to predict whether the Illini will hit their shots. Home, road, Big Ten, non-conference, weekday or weekend, morning, noon or night – there has been no pattern to the wild fluctuations of their three-point shooting (32.7 percent), which now rates as the second-worst mark in the Big Ten.

So why should they break out against Maryland? Because they're due? Because it's a Thursday? Because Mercury is in retrograde? Look, these Illini can shoot it – we know this. And Maryland's defensive style will create open looks and opportunities for the home team to find a groove. Maybe the Illini don't go off as they did against Arkansas or Oregon, but it's time for them to start stringing together a few more makes from distance.

3. The Terps will turn the Illini over – and it will backfire on them

The Terps love to gamble and mix it up on D. They will press full and three-quarters court, they'll collapse and trap, they'll dig and double, lunge, leave their feet and jump lanes. And it often works – especially against opponents who can't handle they're length and athleticism. But they're aggressiveness hasn't been as effective against Big Ten competition.

It'll be a particularly dangerous game to play against Illinois. The Illini are young, play at a high pace and cough up a few too many possessions, but they're also devastating in transition and pass unselfishly and effectively when opponents overplay. Expect Illinois to exceed its per-game average of 11.6 turnovers – and also torch the Terps on the fastbreak and when they get greedy in the halfcourt.

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