No. 6 Maryland (21-11, 11-9) vs. No. 3 Indiana (21-10, 12-8)
When: Friday, March 10
Where: United Center
TV: BTN – Brandon Guadin (pxp), Robbie Hummel (analyst)
Radio: WJZ-FM 105.7 (Baltimore), The TEAM 980 AM (D.C.)
Maryland basketball shook off the cobwebs of the Penn State loss with a convincing 70-54 victory against the No. 14 Minnesota Golden Gophers in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Donta Scott scored a game-high 20 points and secured eight rebounds. It all started after he got his first shot in the paint. After that, he used the pick-and-pop action to knock down threes and continued to get his shots inside in the first half.
“My teammates really found me early on, and they all had faith in my shot, just like coach had faith in my shot,” Scott said about what worked for him. “Even though it hasn’t been falling lately, they told me to keep shooting. I felt I got hot early on, and then they just found a way to find me, and I just kept giving them the assists.”
He added that when the ball came his way, he needed to be ready to knock down shots and not shy away from the moment.
“My teammates believe in me, my coach believes in me, and I believe in myself.”
Julian Reese was effective in the frontcourt per usual with 10 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Jahmir Young and Don Carey combined for 26 points. eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals.
The Terps did an excellent job of getting inside the paint by driving to the basket and using the pick-and-roll action. On the defensive end, they trapped the ball well in the half-court and scored 19 points off of 15 Golden Gopher turnovers.
“We pride ourselves on defense. It’s all about defense. Defense wins games, and we really get at each other after each other when we’re at practice, and we take that mindset into the game,” Scott said. We know once we lock in on defense, there’s not really much you can do to really disrupt our connection on that defensive end. We know our offense is going to flow once our defense starts flowing.”
Now, Maryland basketball looks to upset an Indiana Hoosiers team, who they beat in January.
In that game, the Terps did a solid job of getting the ball inside by driving to the basket and using the pick-and-roll action. Keep using what’s working. Defensively, they trapped the ball well to force turnovers, despite Trayce Jackson-Davis having a career day with 20 rebounds and 18 points. Race Thompson and Jalen Hood-Schifino made an impact on the Hoosiers as well.
The Golden Gophers managed to get several key frontcourt players in foul trouble, but the Terps were able to overcome that. That’s great when you’re winning, but they’ll have to be very careful if they find themselves behind against the Hoosiers.
Jackson-Davis is going to get his numbers as always. For Maryland, limiting the other guys is going to be crucial. Ian Martinez and Patrick Emilien are going to be role players to keep an eye on. Scott, Young, and Reese were a big reason why the Terps beat Indiana back then. They’ll have to show out once again for Maryland to advance to the semifinals.
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