The Hoosiers thoroughly outclassed the Terps during Friday’s contest.
If a ball was in the air and the Terps were going for it a pair of longer, faster arms was there to snatch it away.
Defending the post? Someone bigger and stronger was getting past them.
Scoring? Just five Terps put points on the scoreboard compared to eight Hoosiers.
The only meaningful stat Maryland put up more of on the night was fouls. Other than that it was all Indiana.
The two have at least one thing in common: shooting from deep. The=y combined for five, yes 5, made 3-pointers in a basketball game played in the year of our lord 2023. An outcome many saw coming but few truly believed could actually happen.
One team was good enough to win at Assembly Hall tonight. The other very much wasn’t.
The Hoosiers got off to a quick start and pretty much never looked back, going on a 20-12 run over the first ten minutes of the game. Most of the thanks for that should go to the frontcourt and wings.
Without senior point guard Xavier Johnson, Indiana needed all it got from the frontcourt throughout the night. Malik Reneau was playing bully ball in the paint, Mgbako was sinking midrange jumpers and Kel’el Ware took and made an open look from deep.
On the other end of the court, Julian Reese was chirping at the Indiana bench before sending a shot two feet over the rim. To his credit, Jahmir Young was doing everything he could to keep the Terps in the game. He scored 20 and 7 of Maryland’s 17 attempts from the perimeter came from his hands.
Those were the only two Terps to score in the double figures. The Hoosiers had four such players, three of them being the aforementioned frontcourt and the fourth being Trey Galloway.
Maybe new Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti stole their energy for his halftime speech? That’s the only reasonable explanation that comes to mind.
Needing to replace Johnson’s offensive impact and defensive presence, Galloway more than stepped up to the plate. He sliced through the defense on his way to the rim and helped keep his counterparts from doing the same on the other end.
What truly kept the game out of reach was Indiana’s effort on the glass. The Hoosiers hauled in 46 rebounds to Maryland’s 30 with Ware’s 14 boards leading the way. Motor questions be damned. If the ball was in Ware’s reach tonight he was finding a way to go up and grab it. Galloway and Mgbako chipped in with 6 and 7 apiece.
All of this happened because Indiana was just… better. From the front of the bench to the end.
That’s really the story of the game. Maryland looked listless on offense all night while Indiana, with a freshman guard running the point for multiple minutes at a time, kept finding ways to capitalize.
Sometimes it really is that simple. Not too much deep thinking needed here. Have a nice weekend.