Indiana goes back out on the road for a Friday evening tilt with the Maryland Terrapins.
The Hoosiers are off to a slow start in true road tests, going 1-3 on the season. IU will catch a bit of a break with this one, as the Maryland students do not return to campus for classes until Monday. Nevertheless, the XFinity Center is a solid home venue that will provide a major challenge for the Hoosiers.
Maryland has won four games in a row, including a rather surprising 82-67 road win against Minnesota in their last outing on Tuesday.
Indiana, on the other hand, is trying to rebound from a loss at Michigan which snapped its own seven game win streak.
The Hoosiers will be on two more days of rest and have had extra time to prepare for Maryland. Will it be enough to pick up a big road win?
GAME DAY ESSENTIALS
No. 22/24 Indiana (12-3, 3-1) at Maryland (13-3, 4-1)
- Tip time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern
- Location: XFinity Center (17,950), College Park, Maryland
- Television: FS1
- Series: Indiana leads 8-5. IU won the last meeting, in Bloomington, 71-68.
- Point Spread: Maryland is a 5 point favorite.
- Tickets (Seat Geek affiliate link)
Mark Turgeon is in his eighth year leading the Maryland program. In his 21 season career, Turgeon has compiled a record of 420-243.
Additional Coverage:
- Archie Miller previews the game.
- Mark Turgeon discussed Indiana on his radio show (advance the video to the 45 minute mark).
- Phinisee, Davis and Forrester injury updates.
Projected Starters
Indiana (KenPom No. 28)
- Juwan Morgan, forward, 6-foot-8, 232 pounds, senior
- Justin Smith, forward, 6-foot-7, 227 pounds, sophomore
- Al Durham, guard, 6-foot-4, 181 pounds, sophomore
- Romeo Langford, guard, 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, freshman
- Devonte Green, guard, 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, junior
Key reserves: Zach McRoberts (G), De’Ron Davis (C), Evan Fitzner (F), Damezi Anderson (F), Rob Phinisee (doubtful, G), Clifton Moore (F)
Maryland (KenPom No. 20)
- Bruno Fernando, forward, 6-foot-10, 240 pounds, sophomore
- Jalen Smith, forward, 6-foot-10, 215 pounds, freshman
- Anthony Cowan, guard, 6-foot-0, 170 pounds, junior
- Eric Ayala, guard, 6-foot-5, 205 pounds, freshman
- Darryl Morsell, guard, 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, sophomore
Key reserves: Aaron Wiggins (G), Ricky Lindo (F), Serrel Smith (G)
TALE OF THE TAPE
KEYS TO VICTORY
Start fast. Until something changes, it is going to continue to be a major story with this team. Indiana routinely gets off to slow starts and falls behind early in just about every game. Against Michigan, it was insurmountable. Archie Miller distilled it down to simply needing to be tougher. Maryland is on a roll right now and feeling good about themselves. And they surely know about IU’s early struggles. A slow start on Friday night could once again prove fatal.
Disrupt Cowan. A major key to IU’s pack-line defense is pressure on the ball, and a major key to Maryland’s offense is junior guard Anthony Cowan creating off the dribble. If he gets loose, he can go off, much like he did scoring 27 in that win over Minnesota. Devonte Green cannot do it alone. Indiana is going to have throw a lot of looks at Cowan and work to force him to give up the ball. Cowan has been known to have off nights with forced shots and turnovers if the scheme is right. IU forced him into six turnovers in Bloomington last year.
Limit Offensive Rebounds. The Terps are 14th in the nation in offensive rebound percentage, with Smith and Fernando doing most of the damage. For the most part the Hoosiers have been good on the defensive glass, but we saw missed block outs turn into extra opportunities against Michigan which contributed to their big first half run. It will be all hands on deck, including IU’s guards, to keep Maryland from getting second chances.
Force Turnovers. Indiana only forced three turnovers against Michigan. THREE TURNOVERS. We don’t know if that is a record, but it is difficult to imagine anything less. A team has to dribble off their foot or just throw it out of bounds once or twice, right? With the design of the pack-line, this is never going to be a 20 turnovers per game defense, but the law of averages says that good teams like Maryland and Michigan are going to be very difficult to beat with so little disruption from the defense. The Hoosiers forced Maryland into 18 turnovers last year in Bloomington. If they can force 15 or more this time it will go a long way towards helping the cause.
Avoid Foul Trouble. Both teams are running thin on depth right now. Maryland generally only likes to go with an 8-man rotation and only uses one front court player off the bench despite their 3-guard starting lineup. Indiana lacks depth everywhere right now and it got nothing from its bench on Sunday. Literally nothing. The starters are key for both teams, and any kind of early foul trouble with critical players like we saw against Michigan could spell trouble for either team.
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