Rodney Rice scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the first nine minutes Friday night and second-seeded Maryland emphatically advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten Conference tournament by routing seventh-seeded Illinois 88-65 in Indianapolis. Rice was 7 of 9 from 3-point range as the Terrapins (25-7), ranked 11th nationally, moved on to a matchup with third-seeded Michigan, which defeated sixth-seeded Purdue later Friday. Derik Queen added 19 points and 10 rebounds in just 23 minutes, while Ja'Kobi Gillespie chipped in 12 points and nine assists. Jordan Geronimo came off the bench to tally 11 points and Julian Reese hit for 10 as Maryland canned 11 of 23 3-pointers and committed only three turnovers.
No. 11 Maryland blasts No. 24 Illinois to advance to Big Ten semis
