One big fear heading into the game for Mark Turgeon’s group was the depth that Illinois would throw at them, and it seemed to wear down the Terps in the second half. It also didn’t help that Maryland was just 15-25 from the free throw line, with Terrell Stoglin once again struggling at the charity stripe.

Nick Faust had another ugly shooting night, and they are going to need to get more from him if they want to be competitive on a nightly basis.

Maryland must move on quickly as they get set to play Notre Dame at the BB&T Classic at the Verizon Center Sunday night. 

Entering the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament on a three-game losing streak wasn’t the way the Maryland Terrapins wanted to build momentum for the postseason.

Maryland broke the skid in its tournament opener on Thursday, but didn’t make it easy on itself in a 75-67 victory over North Carolina State in the first round at Greensboro, N.C.

Ahead 68-53 late in the second half, the Terrapins watched as the Wolfpack rallied to pull within 70-63 with one minute left. But Maryland held on from there to advance to the quarterfinals, where the Terrapins will face No. 2 seed Duke at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Terrapins came in as the seventh seed, dropping to that spot after a late-season swoon. Maryland lost five of its final seven games overall, including consecutive defeats to North Carolina, Miami and Virginia to conclude the regular season.

But Maryland got just enough Thursday. Jordan Williams led the way with 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Terrapins held N.C. State to just 33.8 percent shooting from the field.

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