This one will go down in the annals of the all-time bad beats.
IU and Maryland played a competitive first half where neither team led by more than five and both led for at least nine minutes. The Terps began pulling away after the break, and led by as much as 10, 63-53 with 9:34 left. But Indiana went on a 22-7 run and appeared to have Maryland on the ropes, up 75-70 with 3:07 left. That’s when the wheels came off, and the Hoosiers were outscored 9-4 to close things out.
Let’s take a deeper look at how Indiana lost 79-78 with our latest edition of The Report Card.
Indiana (14-7, 5-5) will next travel to Purdue on Friday.
COACHING (D)
The play Indiana ran on its final possession was a disaster. It resulted in Myles Rice being pinned in the corner with nowhere to turn. It appeared perhaps he was supposed to use a Malik Reneau screen. A late substitution in the final seconds ahead of that play may have created confusion.
The frustration with Mike Woodson started before the game, when he removed Luke Goode from the starting five even though he’d averaged 18.5 points and made 8-of-12 from three over the last two contests.
And things boiled over in the last few minutes. Woodson says he wasn’t trying to use clock late, but his team’s possessions suggested otherwise, with Indiana walking the ball up the court, gesturing to slow down, and starting actions late in the shot clock. They didn’t get many good shots late in the game. And Woodson did not have a good free throw shooting lineup in the game late.
Woodson and the staff had to make sure Maryland didn’t get off an open three in their final possession — but they did.
As has been the case recently, IU didn’t quit in the face of adversity. And there were plenty of bright spots overshadowed by the ending.
OFFENSE (B+)
Although they melted down late, Indiana’s offense was plenty good enough to win this game. Against the No. 17 defense in the country, IU scored 1.23 points per possession. That was their second best mark of the year against a high major opponent.
Indiana only turned it over seven times against a Maryland defense No. 20 in the nation in forced turnover percentage. They had 14 offensive rebounds that led to 17 second chance points, and IU shot 41.2% from three.
And the Hoosiers were even better in the second half than the first, shooting 51.5% overall, including 4-of-8 from three, with just three turnovers. The Hoosiers had a stretch in the second half when they made 13 of 15 shots. It was the same stretch that saw them take the 75-70 lead.
Better free throw shooting would have been enough to make the difference.
IU made just one of their last five attempts from the field and added a turnover in the final three minutes.
DEFENSE (F)
Maryland scored 1.25 points per possession, Indiana’s most allowed in a game this season.
The Terps beat IU every way possible — good 3-point shooting (12 of 24), a low turnover percentage (15.8), and the highest offensive rebounding rate against the Hoosiers all season — 41.9%. Poor defensive rebounding has been a theme in almost all of Indiana’s losses, and it cost them with 13 second chance points by the Terps.
While IU did a reasonably good job limiting Maryland big men Derik Queen and Julian Reese to a combined 21 points, the Terrapins’ three starting guards totaled 56 points and and made 12 threes. And those three had to be in the gameplan as players IU had to run off the arc. It’s another theme in losses, as Indiana has allowed double-digit made threes in five of their seven defeats, and 25 threes in the last two games.
Whatever IU gained by having two big men on the floor to guard Maryland, they probably gave up by negatively impacting the effectiveness of their perimeter defense. The attention to detail on switches and coverages wasn’t crisp, and attempts to play zone only compounded the problems.
As good as they were for the game, Maryland was even better in the second half, shooting 59.3% from the field.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- With a coach on the hot seat IU basketball is still competing, and still finding ways to lose
- Watch: Woodson, Leal and Rice discuss IU basketball loss to Maryland
- IU basketball: Maryland 79 Indiana 78 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
THE PLAYERS (*starters)
*Mackenzie Mgbako (C+) Mgbako made shots and showed some skill off the bounce. He was also late to close out on shooters a couple times.
*Myles Rice (B) Rice had one of his best halves in an IU uniform, with 14 points and three 3-pointers after the break to help fuel a strong offensive effort by the Hoosiers. He got caught ball watching on the game-winning three.
*Anthony Leal (B) Leal had a couple massive and-one plays in the final five minutes. He added five rebounds in 19 minutes, and didn’t commit a turnover.
*Malik Reneau (C) Reneau might have turned a corner during the game, as his play improved from half to half. But Reneau still wasn’t efficient and still didn’t look like himself, except for his continuing struggle with foul trouble.
*Oumar Ballo (B-) Ballo was more impactful in the first half than the second as Maryland collapsed their defense on him. But the effort was there in a 39 minute performance despite some bad passes. And he probably should have had his head turned when Galloway tried to find him in the final minutes.
Luke Goode (C) Goode made shots but couldn’t stay on the floor due to foul trouble.
Kanaan Carlyle (D) Carlyle didn’t make a major impact when given the chance in the first half, and Woodson didn’t turn to him in the second stanza.
Trey Galloway (D) Those last two minutes are going to haunt Galloway after he committed a turnover and missed the front end of a one-and-one at the stripe. He otherwise facilitated well on the offensive end, but Galloway had trouble staying in front of pick-and-rolls, and blew some defensive assignments.
Langdon Hatton, Bryson Tucker and Dallas James did not play, coach’s decision.
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Jakai Newton was listed as out for the game. Gabe Cupps is out with a long-term injury.
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