The Hoosiers head on the road to take on Maryland in College Park in their fifth Big Ten game of the season.
Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and will be aired on FS1.
TheHoosier.com has gathered previews and predictions for the game below.
Three things to watch
1. Avoiding another slow start -- Archie Miller said he wants to see more toughness out of his team from the outset of games. Given Indiana's small lineup and Maryland's size, that might be a bit of a challenge. Thus, it comes down to the other demand Miller issued - more structure to IU's approach early on.
2. Juwan Morgan's ability to stay out of foul trouble -- For whatever reason, Indiana losses - all on the road - have had the common element of Morgan failing to avoid the perilous position of two early fouls. Indiana needs Morgan to stay disciplined early to keep games like this competitive and to prevent slow starts like the ones they've experienced against Michigan and others.
3. Evan Fitzner's reemergence -- The graduate transfer forward was an impact player in the first eight games, averaging 18 minutes off the bench. Over Indiana's last seven games, he's averaging just 9.7. For a team that desperately needs 3-point shooting, especially when it needs to rally for a double-digit deficit, a confident Fitzner - who was a career 41 percent 3-point shooter prior to arriving at IU - would go a long way.
Junior point guard Anthony Cowan is the team’s leading scorer (17.2 ppg) and playmaker (4.4 apg) and when he plays at an elite level, the Terps are hard to beat.
The 6-foot-1 Cowan is a 36 percent career 3-point shooter, but is at his best offensively as the ball handler in the pick-and-roll and in transition. According to Synergy, Cowan grades out in the 72nd percentile nationally as the ball handler in pick-and-roll (.87 PPP) and in the 81st percentile in transition (1.27 PPP).
Cowan is currently fifth in the Big Ten in assist rate (28.1 percent) and is drawing 5.5 fouls per 40 minutes, which ranks 12th in conference games.
He’s joined in the lineup by freshman guard Eric Ayala, who is shooting 48 percent on 3s. The 6-foot-5 Ayala is deadly in spot-up situations, according to Synergy. His 1.3 points per possession on spot-up opportunities ranks in the 93rd percentile nationally.
2. Avoiding a slow start
After the Hoosiers struggled to establish their footing early in Sunday’s loss at Michigan, Archie Miller has been adamant about finding a fix for Indiana’s penchant for slow starts. For Miller, the issue seems to be equal parts strategy and mindset. The Hoosiers have to play with purpose, and while they usually manage to settle into games across the final 30 minutes of action, there will once again be little room for error against a talented Maryland team that has won four straight games and seems to be coming into its own.
Predictions and Probabilities
KenPom
Maryland 74, Indiana 69 (65 percent confidence)
Thrill Score: 68.5 (No. 2 among Friday's games)
ESPN
Maryland 66.9 percent
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