2/24/2022 basketball Edit

Know Your Opponent: Maryland

Trevor Gersmehl • TheHoosier

Staff Writer

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A desperate Indiana team fights for its NCAA Tournament hopes in a home matchup against a reeling Maryland squad.

The last time these two teams met, Indiana put on one of their best performances of the season and took a 68-55 victory on the road. Race Thompson had 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Hoosiers, while Trayce Jackson-Davis had 17 points and nine boards. Xavier Johnson also had a nice game, recording his second nine-assist game of the year.

Maryland had a two-game win streak heading into that game, but the wheels have really fallen off for the Terrapins. They lost four games in a row after their loss to Indiana, but are once again on a two-game win streak after beating Big Ten bottom-feeders Nebraska and Penn State.

Eric Ayala is still the leading scorer for Maryland with 14.5 points per game, but he has been coming off the bench the past three games due to a lingering wrist injury that has limited his minutes. He only played 18 minutes in their last outing against Penn State but made the most of his minutes by tallying 13 points.

Rhode Island transfer Fatts Russell is not far behind in terms of scoring (14.1 ppg) and has been going bonkers lately. He is averaging 21.3 points per game across his past four showings.

The Hoosiers did a great job of containing the electric Maryland backcourt in game one. Ayala and Russell combined for 18 points but shot just 5-of-24 from the field. Ayala is more of someone who can be effective off of the catch, but Russell -- shooting just 30.6 percent from three -- is much more effective going downhill and attacking the basket. Ayala on the flip side, is shooting nearly 35 percent from three on 6.8 attempts per game.

Qudus Wahab is a steady presence in the paint at 6-foot-11 and 237 pounds, but is only second on the team in rebounding (5.9 rpg) behind frontcourt mate Donta Scott (6.1 rpg). Wahab had 12 points and eight boards in his first game against Indiana. Wahab is strictly a paint guy and won't be impactful outside of the lane. Scott does have the ability to stretch the floor a bit but isn't going to hurt you consistently from the outside. He does have the versatility, however, to take opponents off of the dribble at the stretch '4' position.

The star of the first matchup for the Terrapins was forward Hakim Hart (9.7 ppg) . Hart had a team-high 15 points on an efficient 50% clip. He is a steady contributor in the scoring column with the ability to carry the team offensively on the right night. Hart is a big, physical guard at 6-foot-6 and 200 pounds.

Maryland typically only uses a seven or eight man rotation depending on the game.Guards Xavier Green (2.2 ppg) has been starting while Ayala is on the mend, and Ian Martinez (3.3 ppg) and 6-foot-9 Julian Reese (5.9 ppg) are the other two rotation players off the bench.

G - Fatts Russell (Sr; 5-10; 165)

Season Stats: 16.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.8 apg

G - Xavier Green (Sr; 6-6; 200)

Season Stats: 2.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg

G - Hakim Hart (Jr; 6-6; 200)

Season Stats: 9.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.1 apg

G- Donta Scott (Jr; 6-7; 225)

Season Stats: 12.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg

F - Qudus Wahab (Sr; 6-9; 240)

Season Stats: 8.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg

Things To Watch For Indiana:

Can Indiana get an early lead? The metrics on Indiana in the second half are more than grim -- they're practically a death sentence. The Hoosiers have blown two winnable games in a row due to their inability to even take -- let alone make -- shots from the perimeter in clutch moments.

What is the easiest way to fix Indiana's problems in the last four minutes? Don't put yourself in a close-game situation in the first place. If the Hoosiers can get a healthy lead early in the game and sustain it, they should be able to weather their Achilles heel in the latter stages of the game.

To do this, they need to play in transition as often as they can and play through Trayce Jackson-Davis in the post before the defense takes it away. The Hoosiers had plenty of success doing both of those things against Ohio State, but once the game slowed down they had no way of generating offense. If they have a cushion, then that won't be a problem.

Game Information:

Who: Indiana (16-10) vs. Maryland (13-14)

When: Thursday, Feb 24th, 7:00 p.m. ET

Where: Bloomington, IN

TV: FS1 (Brandon Gaudin and Stephen Bardo)

Radio: IU Radio Network with Don Fischer, Errek Suhr and Joe Smith

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QUICK HITTERS

• Indiana is 8-8 all-time against Maryland

• Indiana won its matchup with Maryland earlier this season 68-55.

• Maryland has the worst assist-to-turnover ratio in the Big Ten (0.99)

• Maryland allows the second-highest three-point percentage in the Big Ten (35.2%)