BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Amidst everything going on with the integration of a new head football coach for Indiana, the beginning of conference play has snuck up here for Indiana men's basketball. All of a sudden, the Hoosiers' tip off a 20-game league gauntlet at 7:00 p.m. Friday night inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The Hoosiers (5-1, 0-0) welcome in a familiar face when Jordan Geronimo revisits Bloomington for the first time as an opponent, a part of opposing Maryland Terrapins (4-3, 0-0).
Indiana's had four complete days off since defeating Harvard in Indianapolis this past Sunday, taking home an 89-76 victory behind a 50-point second half that saw the Hoosiers' frontcourt scorers continue to dominate and the best game for Mackenzie Mgbako in an IU uniform. The Hoosiers are still far from flawless, but through six games, they've won the games most expected they would and come out on the wrong end of the result most probably expected, too.
"We made plays with a new team, new players, down the stretch, where we had secured the game," Indiana's Mike Woodson said on Thursday. "That's what's been intriguing to me as a coach. We could have easily gone the other way. So that means a lot in terms of building a basketball team. Do we still have our long way to go? Absolutely."
Maryland, on the other hand, has had a bit of a funkier start to the season than the Terps would've eliked to enjoy. Three consecutive losses to Davidson, UAB and Villanova after an opening night victory had the Terps sat square at 1-3, but Maryland has had a chance to regather its footing with three consecutive wins over sub-200 KenPom teams. Now, the Terrapins head to Assembly Hall for the first of two quick Big Ten contests to begin the 20-game conference slate.
Before the two teams tip it up this evening in Bloomington, take a look at everything you need to know about the contest.
Opponent Profile
Head Coach: Kevin Willard
17th year, second at Maryland
Career Record: 296-226, 26-16 at Maryland
In his first season at College Park last year, Willard hit the ground running in his first year at the position with the Terrapins and is looking to recapture it again in year two.
A former Boston Celtics assistant right out of his playing days in college, WIllard spent six seasons in the Louisville program before taking over as the head coach of Iona for three years. His next stop came at Seton Hall, where he led the Pirates' program for 12 years.
Now, fresh off an NCAA Tournament appearance in the first season with the Terrapins, year two for Willard comes with high expectations as well.
This Season
The calling card of this Maryland team so far? A top-25 defense, according to KenPom.
The Terrapins tote an adjusted defensive efficiency rating of 94.9, the 22nd-best of any mark in the sport coming into Friday night's contest. Opponents' effective field goal percentage sits at just 45.0% from the field, and the Terps force turnovers on just shy of 23% of possessions.
On the offensive end of the floor, Maryland is similar to Indiana in which they haven't been shooting well from distance at all. However, different from the Hoosiers' struggles, the Terrapins do take a sizable percentage of their overall total attempts from the outside. 40.5% of the shots the Terps take come from behind the arc.
The tempo Maryland plays at is slower than average, carrying an adjusted tempo of 67.1, nearly two whole percentage points shy of 69.0, which is average for Division I teams this year. The Terrapins will get to the line, but struggle to convert on the free ones. Maryland's rate of free throws attempted to field goals attempted is 19th-best in the country, but the percentage of makes UMD actually converts on ranks 261st.
– Senior guard Jahmir Young is back with the Terrpains this season and is the lead contributor for the Maryland backcourt. Most possessions end with him taking the shot for Terps when he's on the floor (27.6%), and his % of possessions used is a team-high 27.4. In the big picture, he's the Terps' leading scorer – checking in at 15.9 points/game – but his efficiency has lacked severely. On the season, he's averaging just 38.6% from the field. He's a great facilitator too, among the top-100 in the early portion of the season in assist rate nationally. An All-Big Ten Second-Team selection a season ago, he's the only active NCAA player with 2,000+ points, 600+ rebounds and 350+ assists.
– Julian Reese, a 6-foot-9 junior forward from Baltimore, is another returning contributor with experience playing amongst some of the best competition in the conference. He was an honorable mention selection a season ago for the Big Ten, and he's on a follow-up campaign this year as well. Reese is a force on the glass, among the top-100 in both offensive rebounding and defensive rebounding rate respectively. Through seven contests, he's a rebound shy of averaging a double-double, 15.0 points and 9.9 rebounds a night.
– Fifth-year senior forward Donta Scott is another tenured veteran who contributes for this experience-riddled Maryland team. Carrying a team-high offensive rating of 120.4 (meaning he essentially scores 1.2 points per possession, which is exceptional considering a 100 rating – or 1.0 points per possession – is considered average), Scott was an all-conference honorable mention player a season ago. He's a double-digit point-per-game scorer this year so far, coming in at 10.3 points and 4.3 rebounds a night.
– Indiana fans may remember the name Deshawn Harris-Smith as a guard the Hoosiers had interest in for the 2023 class, but the Woodbridge, Va. native opted to stay closer to home with the Terrapins last recruiting cycle. Now, Willard has put immense trust in the former four-star guard as Harris-Smith is the other backcourt mate of Young this season in College Park. He's still finding his footing at this level, shooting just 36.4% from the field through seven games so far. But he's started all seven contests, showing that Willard trusts his young freshman will find his footing and become a more key contributor going forward. Could his breakout happen inside Assembly Hall for his first true Big Ten road game?
– Whether or not IU fans remember Harris-Smith's name, they certainly will remember Jordan Geronimo's name. Geronimo, the former Indiana transfer, is making his return to Assembly Hall and becomes the first player former player of Woodson's that he's coached against at the college level. Geronimo hasn't started all contests this year, but he's elevated himself into the role now. He's still only playing around 20 minutes a game, yet he boasts the Terrapins' highest effective field goal and true shooting percentage numbers so far this year – 58.3% and 61.1% each. Geronimo is taking steps toward evolving into a real contributor for the Terps.
Storylines to monitor…
Xavier Johnson's status remains up in air…
On Thursday morning, in his meeting with the media, Mike Woodson said the Hoosiers were still evaluating Xavier Johnson's lower leg injury that sidelined him for the second half of the Harvard contest. The injury stems back to an awkward landing in the final game before the Empire Classic against Wright State. The injury is to his left foot, different than the broken right foot he suffered last year the prematurely ended his campaign.
"If he can't play, it's the next man up," Woodson said. "That's how it's always been here. Injuries are part of the game. You know, nothing you can do about it. If he can't play, then I expect somebody else to step up and play."
So, if Indiana is without Johnson on Friday evening and potentially going forward, the Hoosiers will need contributions from a backcourt that has struggled to provide consistent output this year. Trey Galloway's senior season hasn't got off to the start that he would've hoped, and Indiana is still looking for more consistent production from the likes of CJ Gunn and Gabe Cupps, who's began to be figured out a bit on the offensive end of the floor.
On his radio show this week, Woodson said that Anthony Leal could earn more consistent run in the backcourt as well, especially considering his solid performance versus the Crimson in Indianapolis.
How different the rotations are now that conference play arrives will be intriguing to monitor.
"You know, if guys are playing well when I put them in there they'll stay in the game," Woodson said. "If not, I got to go find it somewhere else."
Defending home floor in the Big Ten is a top priority…
Indiana's struggles to being the season have been apparent. But as duly noted, by both Woodson and the results themselves, however Indiana has arrived at its 5-1 record isn't as significant as the fact that the Hoosier shave won five of their first six contests.
Now, the Big Ten schedule arrives as a portion of the schedule that will be massive for Indiana's NCAA Tournament hopes. Many believe IU is currently on the outside of the 68-team field and looking in, but there's a reason the tournament is played in March after 30-plus games and not in December after 8-10 games.
The Hoosiers have the opportunity to get off to the right foot in conference play and begin to capitalize off of an overall favorable league slate.
Has Indiana solved perimeter woes on either side of the floor?
Long examination isn't needed to determine Indiana's biggest weakness on the floor, regardless of side of the floor, has been on the perimeter.
IU hasn't shown a capability to defeat teams from outside the paint with the ball in its hands. Defensively, the Hoosiers have been lit up time and time again from the perimeter, allowing lesser teams to hang around with Indiana on the scoreboard and later into games than they should be.
"That's a big problem right now," Woodson said Thursday. "That's one of my biggest concerns. That and rebounding the basketball. A lot of that is, again, new faces trying to figure out what the hell we're doing from a rotation standpoint. The miscues have been so glaring, it's scary."
On offense, Indiana finds just 25.5% of its attempts from 3-point range and only makes 24.1% of them. Nearly all of the Hoosier offensive production comes from inside the arc or the free throw line. Defensively, Maryland has severely limited the production to come from the opponent's offensive perimeter.
In a way, the playstyles fit hand-in-hand. But will either team need a deviation from their ways to create a winning result? Time will tell.
Quick Hitters
Who?: Indiana (5-1, 0-0 in Big Ten play) vs. Maryland (4-3, 0-0 in the Great Lakes Valley play)
Series History: Indiana leads, 12-9. (Last Meeting: IU 70, FGCU 60 on 3/10/23 in Chicago)
When?: Friday, December 1, 7:00 p.m. ET
Where?: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
TV: Big Ten Network: Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play), LaPhonso Ellis (color)
Radio: IU Radio Network, Don Fischer (play-by-play), Errek Suhr (analyst), John Herrick
Vegas: Indiana -2.5, o/u 136.5
KenPom: Indiana 70-68, 56% chance of Indiana victory
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