CHAMPAIGN, ILL. — The last time the Maryland men's basketball team played a game at Illinois prior to Wednesday was eight years ago.
For much of the first half Wednesday night, it looked as if the 11th-ranked Terps were going to have the same kind of success as they did in 2006-07, when Maryland beat the Fighting Illini, 72-66, in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, to end Illinois' 51-game non-conference home winning streak.
It also appeared as if Melo Trimble, the team's star freshman guard, was going to replicate the performance of Greivis Vasquez, who as a freshman in 2006-07 had breakout performance with 17 points and three assists off the bench.
Trimble's stats Wednesday were even better than Vasquez's on that night – he too finished with 17 points, also adding five rebounds, four assists and no turnovers in a team-high 31 minutes. The numbers were a little misleading – moot really – in a 64-57 defeat that prevented Maryland (14-2, 2-1) from its best start in history.
The problem wasn't just that Trimble didn't score in the second half until the final minute, when he hit a 3-pointer, got fouled taking another 3-pointer, and then made a layup right before the final buzzer.
Even more noticeable than Trimble's lack of scoring was that of senior guards Dez Wells and Richaud Pack, senior forward Evan Smotrycz and sophomore center Damonte Dodd. The four combined for 12 points – 22 points below their collective average.
Maryland's first loss in over a month (since a 76-65 defeat to then-No. 7 Virginia on Dec. 3 in the ACC-Big East Challenge) was mostly the result of upperclassmen getting rattled on the road, not just the freshmen. Wells (2 of 8 shooting, 2 rebounds) might have played his worst game as a Terp.
In fact, freshmen Dion Wiley (9 points in 19 minutes) and Jared Nickens (7 points in 18 minutes) helped give the Terps a six-point lead in the first half with a couple of 3-pointers and also helped make the final score a litle less one-sided. Wiley hit 3 of 4 3-pointers to break out of a recent shooting slump.
"Moving forward, this is a learning experience," said junior forward Jake Layman, who sat out most of the first half after picking up two early fouls and finished with 10 points. "It's the second loss, not a big deal, especially for veteran guys like me who've been through it before.
"We've got to get the younger guys together and let them know it's not the end of the world. ... It's going to sting a little tonight, but you've got to have a short-term memory. There were some good points that we can take away. Coach came in and told us hat we've just got to be more focused on the road, especially with that number next to our name."