Well what do we have here?
Indiana appeared to be on their way towards a long afternoon at College Park on Sunday. They fell behind by 10 at halftime and by as much as 16 early in the second half. And then it happened. In what was their best basketball of the entire season, the Hoosiers turned a 51-35 second half deficit into a 75-64 lead — a 40-13 run on the road — in the span of about 14 minutes.
Let’s take a deeper look at how IU won 83-78 with another edition of The Report Card.
Indiana (16-13, 8-10) will next travel to Minnesota for a Wednesday evening contest.
COACHING (A)
It is abundantly clear Mike Woodson has not lost this team.
And in this game he had the right adjustments.
From sticking with Xavier Johnson for most of the game, to playing more aggressive defense, and emphasizing the transition game on offense — Woodson and his staffed pressed the right buttons after a sluggish start.
Woodson said he specifically lit into Kel’el Ware at halftime, and he got a response from the sophomore big man.
OFFENSE (A-)
When Indiana makes threes and free throws, their offense is difficult to stop. This isn’t saying anything profound, as everything seems to go better when shots go in.
“When you add shooting to them (Ware and Malik Reneau), I don’t think anybody can beat us,” Xavier Johnson said.
IU struggled at times in their half court offense, but a second half emphasis on pushing the tempo gave Maryland fits.
“They really pushed the pace on us,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard said.
The stats bear out what Willard said. Indiana scored 14 of their 20 fast break points in the second half.
IU was especially dominant offensively in the second half when they shot 73.1 percent from the field.
For the game IU scored 1.17 points per possession, including 1.47 in the second half. They had an effective field goal percentage for the game of 62.7 percent, shot 43.8 percent from three, made 14-of-17 free throws, and IU only had five second half turnovers.
DEFENSE (B)
This wasn’t a complete wire-to-wire defensive effort by any means, but things improved substantially in the second half.
IU turnovers helped fuel Maryland’s offense in the first half, as the Terps got out in transition and scored 10 points off nine IU miscues.
After the break, Indiana was able to take away the straight line drives to the rim that were giving them trouble. They pressured the ball and got into passing lanes, and they stopped bringing post double-teams from the ball side. And Maryland had seven second half turnovers.
“We weren’t playing Indiana basketball from a defensive standpoint, and they (the IU players) knew it at halftime, and we let them know that, and thought they responded,” Woodson said.
Overall IU allowed 1.1 points per possession, but just 1.03 in the second half. A couple underrated stats — IU limited Maryland to just six offensive rebounds, and 10 free throws on the day.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- Sparked by Mackenzie Mgbako and Xavier Johnson, Indiana’s second-half fight bears fruit
- Watch: Xavier Johnson and Mackenzie Mgbako discuss win at Maryland
- Watch: IU basketball coach Mike Woodson discusses win at Maryland
- IU basketball: Indiana 83 Maryland 78 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
THE PLAYERS
*Trey Galloway (B+) It was another everything was great but three-point shooting day for Galloway, who in the second half alone had 10 points, three assists, no turnovers and a crucial late steal. His floater game has taken positive strides, and he was solid defensively.
*Mackenzie Mgbako (A-) The freshman forward posted his third career scoring high in just over two weeks. His shooting played a key role in the IU rally, and Mgbako’s offense was greatly aided by his willingness to run the floor. There were some challenges with perimeter defense in the first half, and he had three turnovers.
*Malik Reneau (B+) Indiana really struggled when Reneau left the game with a first half injury. The game was tied when he subbed out, and IU was down nine when he came back five minutes later. Reneau struggled with fouls with four in 25 minutes, and those came via perimeter defense. But he was overall a major positive, including some nice passing and drives from the perimeter.
*Kel’el Ware (B-) What a tale of two halves. He had zero points and three turnovers in the first, and nine points, ten rebounds and two blocks in the second. Maryland coach Kevin Willard noted Ware’s improvement as a defender over the course of the season. Ware’s mistakes set up a lot of Maryland’s offense in the first half with transition going the other way, but he was a force on both ends in the second.
*Gabe Cupps (B) Cupps made a couple shots early, but it became clear Xavier Johnson was going to be the better defensive option.
Anthony Leal (B) The senior guard once again gave IU quality minutes, and he can be trusted late in games to make the right plays and be in the right place on defense.
Xavier Johnson (A-) Johnson changed the game with both his on ball defense and offensive composure. He slowed down Jahmir Young, was efficient on offense, and facilitated IU’s transition game with good passing. This Xavier Johnson makes Indiana a much better team.
Anthony Walker (B-) Playing back in his home state, Walker gave IU an and-one as he ran ahead in transition, but he also had a turnover and missed a close out on a shooter.
C.J. Gunn saw limited action.
Kaleb Banks and Payton Sparks did not play, coach’s decision.
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Jakai Newton (knee) is out long-term.
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