Rodney Rice delivers game-winning shot to lift Maryland over Indiana on the road, 79-78

Five years to the day since Jalen Smith delivered the go-ahead bucket to beat Indiana in Bloomington, Rodney Rice delivered the game-winner on Sunday to lift Maryland to a 78-77 win. Maryland moves to 16-5 (6-4) following its third consecutive win including second on the road.

Rice finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including five threes, for his third game leading the team in scoring and 20-point game of the season while shooting 5-of-7 from three. Ja'Kobi Gillespie finished just shy of a double-double with 18 points and nine assists, his 15th consecutive game with five or more assists. Julian, meanwhile, Reese secured his second consecutive double-double with 14 points and ten rebounds in a game he passed Joe Smith in all-time scoring along with Donta Scott and Tom McMillen in all-time rebounds. Selton Miguel would prove to be big in the second half after becoming the fourth to finish in double figures with 15 points while shooting 50% from the field.

Neither team had an issue scoring with 21 points combined through the first four minutes while Maryland and Indiana both shot above 50% from the field as three-point shooting set the tone.

After the Hoosiers jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, consecutive threes from Rodney Rice and Ja’Kobi Gillespie would give Maryland its first lead with a pair of lead changes through the first five minutes, but after Indiana went on a quick 6-0 run in under 90 seconds to take a 19-16 lead eight minutes into the game, the Terps would begin taking control of the rest of the half led by Ja’Kobi Gillespie.

The Hoosiers had trouble staying in front of the shifty guard after Gillespie scored five consecutive points, first a layup then his second three of the game, before connecting with Tafara Gapare on a halfcourt layup in transition to push Maryland ahead by four.

Indiana, though, would pound the paint where 16 of their 19 points came inside with Oumar Ballo adding ten first half points, but Maryland could capitalize on the glass and second-chance points after Julian Reese and Derik Queen combined for 14 points while bringing six rebounds each through the first 20 minutes.

Maryland stretched the biggest lead of the first half when Ja’Kobi Gillespie picked Trey Galloway’s pocket in the halfcourt for a breakaway layup to make it 38-33 and led for the final 9:57 of the first half, but a 4-0 Indiana run all from the free throw line would cut the lead to 38-37 heading into halftime.

Then it became the Selton Miguel show in Bloomington where the senior scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, including a personal 8-0 run eight minutes in to give Maryland a nine-point lead, its largest of the day.

Indiana would battle back to trim the lead to one with seven minutes left before Gillespie and Rice quieted the crowd with threes on consecutive possessions, but the Hoosiers would tie the game one minute later after turning a Selton Miguel turnover in the paint to an and-one opportunity in transition. Indiana would take complete control of the game after that after Malik Reneau's jumper sparked a 10-0 run, giving the Hoosiers their first lead since 11:16 in the first half.

Layups from Selton Miguel and Julian Reese would cut Maryland's deficit back to one, but Indiana appeared inches away from securing the comeback win at home after Anthony Leal drew an and-one opportunity to put Indiana ahead by four with 38 seconds left.

Ja'Kobi Gillespie would make it a one-possession game thanks to a jumper with 28 seconds left before Trey Galloway's missed free throw on the one-and-one gave the Terps one last chance with 22 seconds left before Rodney Rice hit the game-winning three with 7.5 seconds left.

Maryland will now head back to College Park in search of their third win over a ranked team at Xfinity Center when they host 18th-ranked Wisconsin on Wednesday for a 7 PM tipoff.

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