1/29/2022 basketball Edit

Hoosiers face difficult task trying to slow down Maryland's backcourt

Alec Lasley • TheHoosier

Senior Writer

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Maryland is riding a two-game winning streak into its matchup with Indiana on Saturday and a lot of the recent success has come from the guard position.

Eric Ayala and Fatts Russell combine for 30 points per game and can beat teams in many ways.

While Ayala is more of a threat from the outside, Russell uses his quickness to get in the lane and break down opposing defenses that way.

IU head coach Mike Woodson knows the Hoosiers will have a tough test slowing down that backcourt unit -- especially with no Rob Phinisee.

"Well, that's where their strengths are, at the point guard position and the shooting guard," Woodson said. "But they've got a full -- all those guys that play are capable of beating you off the dribble."

Russell and Ayala have struggled to get going at the same time due to their need to both have the ball in their hands. However, in the past two games, they have found a way to work off of each other and it has made Maryland a very difficult team to defend.

Last game out against Rutgers, that duo combined for 45 points on 15-of-29 shooting, including 10-of-17 from deep.

On the season Ayala shoots it at a 37 percent clip from three on seven attempts per game. Russell is just at 32.2 percent but is coming off of five made 3s against Rutgers. He does, however, get to the line at will. He is a career 78.5 percent shooter from the free throw line and ranks eighth in the Big Ten in attempts this year. He ranked first in free throw attempts in each of the last two seasons in the A-10 conference.

Xavier Johnson will be tasked with guarding one of the two guards and while he has a very good defensive rating of just 92.5 -- sixth in the Big Ten -- it still leaves an opening for the other guard with no Phinisee on the floor who had a defensive rating of 92.4.

"It's effective a lot. I feel like we get a lot of stops with me and him on the floor because it's hard to beat us all off the dribble," Johnson said previously about IU's defense with he and Phinisee on the floor. "We both pick up 94 feet, and we just let it play defense because we know it gets the team going."

IU has struggled a times containing guards on the perimeter and have seen what happens when guards get in the middle of the defense, creating open 3s for teammates.

For Maryland, however, when those guards are in the paint, it's to score and not make plays for their teammates on the perimeter, as the Terrapins shoot just 32.6 percent from three on the season.

"It's a big dribble drive team, a big isolation team, so I mean, it's no surprise. We've got to defend off the dribble, and we've got to do it for 40 minutes," Woodson said.

Indiana looks to get its second straight road win on the season after losing eight in a row dating back to last year.