The Maryland Terrapins take on the Illinois Fighting Illini in Champaign, IL. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET on BTN.
Illinois is favored by 19.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -5000. The total is set at 149 points.
Here’s my Maryland vs. Illinois predictions and college basketball picks for January 21, 2026.
Maryland vs Illinois Prediction
My Pick: Illinois 1H -10 or Better
My Maryland vs Illinois best bet is on the Fighting Illini to cover the first-half spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Maryland vs. Illinois Odds
| Maryland Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+19.5 -105 | 149 -110o / -110u | +1600 |
| Illinois Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-19.5 -115 | 149 -110o / -110u | -5000 |
- Maryland vs Illinois spread: Illinois -19.5
- Maryland vs Illinois over/under: 149 points
- Maryland vs Illinois moneyline: Maryland +1600, Illinois -5000
Maryland vs Illinois College Basketball Betting Preview
Maryland Basketball
It's year one for Buzz Williams in College Park, and it's not going well. The Terps have played nine games against top-100 KenPom competition, without winning any of those contests. Maryland is 3-9 in its last 12 games, with six of those losses coming by 17 or more points.
Some of that is due to injury. Leading scorer Pharrel Payne hasn't played since December 13, and his return doesn't sound imminent.
The scoring load has been left to Kansas transfer David Coit, who went for 30 against USC and dropped 43 points with nine made 3s against Penn State on Monday. He also had 41 against Mount St. Mary's and 31 against Michigan, but he doesn't have a 20-point game outside of those four.
He was scoreless against Old Dominion and 2-of-13 from the field at UCLA. That's not the kind of scoring that you can rely on night to night.
He's joined by freshman Darius Adams, who's been as expected as a top recruit, though he's shown his inexperience at times, turning the ball over and taking some questionable shots at the rim.
Maryland has the 16th-ranked offense in the Big Ten, plagued by too many turnovers, bad shooting and ugly decision-making at times. Williams has a long road to making this team competitive this season, especially with Payne on the shelf.
Illinois Basketball
In 2026, there are a lot of ways to build a highly ranked basketball program. Your roster could be filled with one-and-dones, you could constantly raid the transfer portal, or maybe you could develop homegrown talent. Most top teams have some mix of all of these.
Brad Underwood's plan for this season feels like the plans of an early 20th-century empire or a guy playing the board game "Risk." He built through Southwestern Europe, as he has five players with roots from the region, creating a culture and an identity for this Illinois roster.
Andrej Stojakovic is the headliner of that group. He's American-born, the son of Serbian NBA legend Peja Stojakovic, and came via the transfer portal from Cal.
David Mirkovic of Montenegro and Mihailo Petrovic of Serbia are first-year college players, with Mirkovic making a major impact at 12 points and eight rebounds per game.
In the paint, Underwood has the luxury of literal twin towers, in the form of Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic. You may remember Zvonimir for his years with John Calipari at Kentucky and Arkansas, but he joined his brother at Illinois this past offseason.
Few coaches have access to a seven-footer who shoots above 35% from 3-point range. Underwood has two, essentially keeping one on the court at all times.
This boatload of Balkan boys makes the backbone of the roster, but the two most productive Illini have been Kylan Boswell, in his second year at Illinois after two at Arizona, and Keaton Wagler, a freshman.
Wagler came to Champaign with little fanfare, ranked outside the nation's top-100 recruits. Despite the low profile, he's made an immediate impact, scoring in double figures in 15 of 18 games.
The team reflects the way it was built. By KenPom's average height metric, this is the biggest team in college hoops. The Illini hammer the offensive glass and use their shooting bigs to create mismatches all over the floor.
Maryland vs. Illinois Betting Analysis
There's a big number here, but it's hard to see Maryland keeping pace on the road. The Terps have faced four teams in the top 20 of KenPom's metrics and lost all four of those games by an average margin of 27.3 points.
The Terps played well against a lackluster Penn State team on Monday and now turn around to face a highly-ranked, fresh-legged Illinois team in Champaign.
I'd be pretty shocked if Maryland can keep this close, even early on. I like the Illini to run away and hide, covering the first half spread.
My Pick: Illinois 1H -10 or Better
