The Fighting Illini let a golden opportunity slip away, coughing up a 14-point halftime lead in a 59-58 loss to Maryland in Saturday’s Big Ten opener. Illinois scored a paltry 19 points in the second half and were undone by several questionable calls, puzzling coaching decisions, and — naturally — a lengthy scoring drought. Alas, the Illini are 0-1 in conference play and now square off with the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines on Wednesday night.
What They’ve Done So Far
Head coach Juwan Howard didn’t really have time to get acclimated to his new gig, but it hasn’t seemed to matter early on.