Five takeaways from Indiana’s loss to Maryland

Indiana fell to 14-7 and 5-5 in Big Ten play with Sunday’s 79-78 loss to Maryland at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Here are five takeaways from the loss to the Terrapins:

Indiana had no answer defensively for Maryland’s guards

The Terps were getting nearly 30 points per game combined from Derik Queen and Julian Reese entering Sunday’s matinee in Bloomington.

While Reese scored above his season average with 14 points, it was a quiet afternoon offensively for Queen, who finished with seven points.

Maryland’s guards more than made up the difference.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice and Selton Miguel combined for 56 points and hit all 12 of Maryland’s 3-pointers. Eight of the 12 triples from the trio came in the second half, including the game-winner from Rice, who led all scorers with 23 points.

When Maryland needed a big play on Sunday, one of its guards was there to make it, as Indiana’s guards had no answer defensively for most of the afternoon.

Hoosiers falter with the game on the line

Indiana hasn’t been in many tight games this season. With the game firmly in the balance late against Maryland, the Hoosiers made countless mistakes to let it slip away.

From turnovers to missed opportunities at the line to failing to give an available foul and a final possession that went nowhere, Indiana did not execute when it mattered most.

The Hoosiers led by five at 75-70 with 3:07 left and by four at 78-74 with 38 seconds to go. But Indiana could never put the game away.

After Ja’Kobi Gillespie got the Terps within two at 78-76, Trey Galloway had a chance to push the lead back to two possessions at the free-throw line. But Galloway missed the front end of a 1-and-1, setting up Rodney Rice’s go-ahead 3-pointer with just over seven seconds left. Indiana failed to give a foul it had available to give on that possession.

And on the game’s final possession, Indiana could not produce a good look on a baseline out-of-bounds play despite having more than three seconds to do so. It was a chaotic and disorganized ending to a game that Indiana should have been able to close out.

Indiana surrenders 1.25 points per possession

For the fifth straight game, Indiana allowed more than a point per possession in Sunday’s loss.

In fact, it was the worst defensive effort on a points-per-possession-allowed basis for Indiana all season. Before Sunday, Louisville and Nebraska (1.233 points per possession each) had the best offensive efficiency numbers against Indiana’s defense.

But the Terps surpassed the Cardinals and Huskers by putting up 1.25 points per trip against the Hoosiers.

This was the most points per possession Indiana has allowed since its 85-71 loss to Penn State at Assembly Hall last season, when the Nittany Lions scored 1.375 points per possession.

With the Big Ten season at the halfway mark, Indiana is allowing 1.108 points per possession, which ranks 12th out of 18 teams in the conference. The Hoosiers are 69th nationally in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted defensive efficiency, ranking 13th among Big Ten teams.

Hoosiers have now dropped four of five with toughest six-game stretch of the season coming up

Five games into the 11-game stretch that would shape the outlook of Indiana’s season, the Hoosiers are 1-4.

The road becomes more difficult from here.

The Hoosiers have now dropped two straight games in Bloomington and play three of their next four games on the road.

Indiana’s next six games are as follows: at Purdue, at Wisconsin, vs. Michigan, at Michigan State, vs. UCLA and vs. Purdue.

KenPom projects Indiana to lose all six and now projects the Hoosiers to finish 8-12 in the Big Ten. Last season, Indiana finished 10-10 in conference play.

Indiana continues to fail to meet expectations in year four of Mike Woodson’s tenure

In year four of Mike Woodson’s tenure in Bloomington, the IU program continues to fail to meet expectations.

Woodson stated in the offseason that this was his most talented roster in Bloomington. The Hoosiers were picked to finish second in the conference and were ranked in the Associated Press top 25 poll early in the season.

However, with the calendar barreling towards February, Indiana is not even projected to make it to the NCAA tournament.

In year four of Woodson’s tenure, the baseline expectations for Indiana basketball were competing for a conference title and a favorable seed set up an opportunity to advance in the NCAA tournament.

With just 10 regular season games left and a daunting schedule remaining, Woodson is failing to meet the bare minimum of what should be acceptable for a coach in year four of his tenure with robust NIL resources.

Category: Five Takeaways

Filed to: Maryland Terrapins