#21 Indiana (15-6, 6-4) vs. Maryland (14-7, 5-5)
When: Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 9 PM
Where: Xfinity Center
TV: ESPN2 (Brian Custer, Robbie Hummel, Myron Medcalf)
Radio: 105.7 FM (Baltimore); 980AM (DC)
Maryland basketball (14-7, 5-5 Big Ten) has gained some momentum toward a late-season NCAA Tournament push during this three-game home stand and welcomes a solid No. 21 Indiana Hoosiers team (15-6, 6-4 Big Ten) to College Park Tuesday.
The Hoosiers are coming in hot as winners of their last five games, led by forward Trayce Jackson-Davis who’s averaging a double-double this season (19.6 points and 10.7 rebounds) and adds three blocks per game to that stat line. He will surely be a contender for the John R. Wooden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Naismith awards when the season comes to a close. He is one of the best players in college basketball right now.
“I don’t think we have enough time. He’s that good. They just post him up on the left block and you gotta try to stop him, Willard said about Jackson-Davis. No one’s figured it out. I’ll be honest, I haven’t figured it out yet. It’s not a one-man game. I think he’s more dominant than Zach Edey and that’s saying something because he gets everyone else shots. He’s a willing passer. He’s an unbelievable rebounder. He pushes the ball up in transition,” Willard said. “He’s really tough in the mid-post area. He’s almost impossible if he posts up in the middle of the lane. He is an unbelievable shop locker. He’s a very good defender. . He’s I think over the last five games he’s scoring almost at the 82% clip on the right block.”
Indiana also has shooters that the Terps need to game plan for. Jalen Hood-Schifino (12.8 ppg, 43 percent perimeter shooter), Tamar Bates (8.2 ppg, 41 percent perimeter shooter), and Miller Kopp (eight ppg, 45 percent perimeter shooter) can all hurt a defense from the outside and score inside when necessary.
As a team, the Hoosiers, shoot 38.4 percent from the perimeter (second in the Big Ten) and 50.3 percent from the field (second in the Big Ten).
For Maryland basketball to have success, they need to score early and often. Why? So they can utilize their full-court press. It was successful against Wisconsin for example because they run their offense at a much slower pace. If the Terps make shots early, they’d be in a much better position to apply pressure as Indiana moves the ball up the floor.
Jahmir Young had six steals in the win against Nebraska, so that will need to be an emphasis for the Terps. They need to close down passing lanes to prevent the open perimeter shots from dropping. Jackson-Davis is a physical guy in the post, and he’s going to get his numbers regardless, but if the Terps can put pressure on him and make things difficult, that will bode well toward closing out the three-game home stand with a W.
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