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Indiana has snapped its five-game losing streak with a 74-64 home win against Maryland on the back of Xavier Johnson.

Indiana was without the trio of Rob Phinisee, Khristian Lander, and Trey Galloway for the second straight game. Johnson stepped up and addressed the issue with a superb offensive performance.

The Hoosiers jumped out to an early 8-4 lead, but Maryland kept things close with a balanced scoring attack. Indiana was attacking the paint hard and benefitted from manufacturing high-percentage looks. They began the game shooting 7-for-8 on layups, and 18 of their first 22 points came in the paint.

Maryland switched to a 2-3 zone to try and stop the Indiana offensive attack, and the Hoosiers responded with an 8-0 run to take a 28-18 lead. However, Maryland would respond with a 9-2 run of their own to tighten up the score again.

The halftime score was 30-27 Indiana. The Hoosiers finished the first 20 minutes with a better field goal percentage and fewer turnovers than their counterpart, but Maryland's threes and free throws made the score nearly even.

The Hoosiers would come out of the halftime break by going on an 8-0 run including a thunderous Xavier Johnson dunk which turned the momentum in Indiana's favor. After missing their first two shots of the half, Indiana made their next 13 attempts from the field. They continually had success sharing the ball and working it into the paint for layups, frequently coming from the hand of Race Thompson.

However, any time the Hoosiers seemed to be pulling away, Fatts Russell would hit a tough three to bring his team closer. He had averaged 21.3 points per game in his previous four games and continued that trend tonight. Russell hit five threes in the second half alone, and almost all of them were off-dribble deep bombs.

Maryland stuck with their 2-3 zone, but the Hoosiers had no trouble breaking it down due to the superb offensive performance of Johnson. Johnson turned in his best offensive performance of the season and almost always found the weak point of the zone. He and Thompson accounted for 22 of Indiana's first 28 points in the second half.

Despite Russell's best efforts, Indiana managed to take a 10-point lead and ride that lead until the buzzer. Indiana never trailed in this game and ultimately triumphed 74-64.

The Maryland defense simply had no answer for Johnson's offense. He scored 20 points and dished out four assists in the second half alone, and finished with a 24 and six assists on perfect 7-of-7 shooting.

Trayce Jackson-Davis struggled with foul trouble this game and only played 25 minutes. He contributed 10 points, five rebounds, and volleyball-spike blocks.

Thompson and Johnson managed to carry the load with their star player sitting on the bench more than normal. Thompson did what he usually does, putting together a solid all-around performance. He had 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting and nine rebounds.

Fatts Russell and Hakim Hart were the two biggest players for the Terrapins this evening. Russell finished with 23 points and 5-of-9 shooting from deep. Russell finished with 23 points on 5-of-9 shooting from deep, while Hart had 14. Eric Ayala had been dealing with a wrist injury and couldn't find the touch this game, finishing just 1-of-7 from the field with three points.

Indiana has finally broken their five-game losing streak and has several more chances to build its resume for March. If Xavier Johnson can turn his play tonight into the new normal, it will give Indiana a much better chance down the stretch. Their next game will be on the road at Minnesota Sunday afternoon.

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