In their final home game of the season, the Terps host Indiana.
With two games remaining in the regular season, Maryland men’s basketball sits just one game above .500 following a recent 68-61 loss to Northwestern.
The Terps’ defeat ultimately resulted from shooting a season-low 9.1% from three on 22 attempts. Jahmir Young and DeShawn Harris-Smith were the only bright spots offensively, and the only Terps to hit a triple. Young tallied 24 points and six assists, while Harris-Smith added 14 points and five rebounds.
Now, Maryland will take on Indiana for the second time this season in its final home game. Sunday’s game will begin at 2 p.m. ET and air on CBS.
What happened last time
Maryland first played Indiana on Dec. 1 in its Big Ten opener. The Terps entered the game on a three-game winning streak, but Indiana snapped it with a convincing 65-53 win.
The final score does not capture the chokehold Indiana had on the Terps. The Hoosiers led by 12 points nearly six minutes in and did not allow Maryland to come within seven the rest of the game. They led by as many as 23 in the second half.
Maryland’s shooting struggles and lack of offensive versatility were on full display, as it shot 35.7% from the field and 12.5% from three. Although the Hoosiers recorded four more turnovers, they did not settle for 3-pointers and instead attacked the paint en route to a 45.6% field-goal percentage.
While Jahmir Young led all scorers with 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting, Kel’el Ware had the biggest impact of any player, totaling 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 14 rebounds.
What’s happened since
The Terps were in the midst of a rocky start to the season, sitting at 4-3, before they played Indiana, and the loss that followed was only a sign of things to come.
Maryland rallied for a five-game winning streak directly after, but is 6-10 since that point. Its most impressive win of the season came soon after against then-No. 10 Illinois, however the stretch also included a blowout loss to then-No. 1 Purdue on Jan. 2 and four one-score losses.
Indiana stood at 6-1 following its win over the Terps, but fast-forward more than three months later, and the two teams have virtually the same record, as the Hoosiers are 15-13.
Indiana is one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the Big Ten, along with Maryland, with a dismal 31.8% clip from beyond the arc. It is also the worst free-throw shooting team at 65.3%. Both have contributed to the Hoosiers scoring just 72.9 points per game, the third-least in the Big Ten.
Three things to watch
1. Maryland’s 3-point approach. Time after time, Maryland has been baited into shooting an abundance of 3-pointers with only a few rattling in. Following Wednesday’s outing and a poor shooting performance against Indiana last time, the Terps could see similar treatment.
2. Reese vs. Ware. Julian Reese has rarely been outplayed this season by an opposing center, with one of the few exceptions being Ware. Ware was better in just about every statistical category in December, but Reese will have an opportunity to return the favor Sunday.
3. Big Ten Tournament implications. Five of the bottom six teams in the Big Ten, which includes Maryland and Indiana, are a game or less apart in the standings. With only two or three regular season games remaining for each team, Sunday’s game will surely impact Big Ten Tournament seeding.